Vengeance Without Borders
by XBgamer94
Summary: An enemy from Jane and Maura's past returns, seeking revenge. Sequel to Detectives Without Borders, you should probably read that first if you haven't yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Hey, guys! A while back, I was asked to write a sequel to my fic Detectives Without Borders. I instantly had ideas, but became wrapped up in my busy life as well as my other two still in progress fics. You should probably read DWB first, otherwise you may not understand stuff in this. Since I have a habit of not updating all that fast, the chapters will be slightly shorter than the ones in DWB. But don't worry, shorter chapters means more frequent updates. Feel free to check out my other in progress fics "When Dreams Become Reality" and "Time Between Us" if you're interested :)**

**Ok, here we go... :D**

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Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 1

The BBQ at Jane and Maura's house was in full swing, all of the guests having a great time. The two wanted everyone over, not seeing a lot of them for quite a while. The entire NCIS gang flew in to Boston to catch up with their good friends, whom they consider family. Especially after the events that brought them together. They all took Kate's death pretty hard, but were able to get through the grief with the support of each other. As time passed, it got easier. Though they will never forget their fallen friend and sister, the pain slowly went away.

The couple are still very much in love after two years, their relationship growing stronger with each passing day. About 4 months ago, they got a new house and moved in together. After finally settling in, Jane suggested they have their family in DC come and celebrate. Maura instantly thought it was a great idea, missing them so much and only been speaking to them over the phone every so often.

Out back of their new home, Jane and Maura are bickering over the food.

"Oh, c'mon Maura. Just one little taste? Please?" Jane pouted, but her girlfriend wouldn't give in despite the adorable face she was receiving.

"It's not done yet. You are so impatient!" Maura laughed, and Jane stuck her tongue out at her. "Fine, _one_ bite!"

"Yes!" Jane pumped her arm in a show of excitement, reminding Maura of when they had coffee together for the first time. The honey blonde rolled her eyes in a loving manner, as she often does at Jane's antics, and held up a spoon of homemade pasta salad for Jane to have.

Meanwhile, over at the grill beside the pool, most of the guys stood together with a beer in hand and laughed at the friendly dispute.

"When are these two gonna get married already?" Frost remarked, and all wondered the same thing.

"I don't know man, wanna take bets?" Tommy half joked.

Jane just barely caught their words and glared at them. She left Maura by the table, who was talking with her mother, Abby, and Cavanaugh, and went over to join the others.

After clearing her throat and reinforcing her death stare, she effectively intimidated most of them. Except Gibbs, who knew what she was going to say.

"You're lucky Maura didn't hear you two." Jane warned.

"We were just messing around, we didn't mean anything by-" Her youngest brother started apologizing, but Jane shook her head and cut him off.

"I don't want the _slightest_ hint of a possibility of getting married on her mind." They were about to question her and make a comment, but stop when Jane looked over her shoulder to see Maura in a deep conversation.

The Sergeant turned back to the group and pulled out a small black box from her pocket. Opening it up, she revealed a diamond ring that shined brightly underneath the sun that was directly overhead. "Because I want it to be a complete surprise."

"Whoa, Janie that's-"

"Shh!" Jane shushed her other brother before he got too loud. "I don't want her hearing."

Frankie made a zipping motion along his lips, understanding why he had to be quiet.

Jane was glad her back is turned to Maura, because she can't keep the beaming smile off her face.

"You think she'll like it?"

The moment the words left her lips, they instantly assured her it was an amazing ring.

"She's gonna love it, Jane."

"Thanks, Gibbs." She smiled appreciatively, then closed the box and slid it back into the safety of her pocket.

"So when are you gonna pop the question?" Frost asked his best friend, barely keeping a lid of his excitement like the others. It was a long time coming, he knew they were meant for each other during those few weeks in Africa.

"It took me a while to think of the perfect way... How and when. Romantic dinner with just the two of us, or together with all of our family present?"

Frost grinned. "Is that why the NCIS gang is here?"

The Italian shook her head yes, and looked at Gibbs, the two smiled at one another. "Maura thinks of him as a father, so I wanted to ask for his blessing. Which made me think of the others. You guys are her family, too. I want everyone here. I think Maura would really like that." She commented while glancing at her girlfriend, who was laughing at whatever Abby had said. The smile on her face was beautiful and radiant. Jane fell in love with her even more at the sight. "Look how happy she is."

"I think you made the perfect choice, Janie. She'll love being surrounded by all of us. Great idea."

Jane looked back at her brother and smiled. "Thanks, Tommy."

"So, when are you gonna do it?" Tony asked, and took a sip of his beer.

"I don't really have a set time." Jane shrugged. "I was thinking some time around sun set, which is in about 2 hours. I'm a little nervous."

They all look at her in surprise, while her partner and childhood friend took the opportunity to tease her a little to help ease her nervousness. "Jane Rizzoli is nervous? Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. Nothing to be nervous about, partner."

Tim, who had become fast friends with Frost over their mutual love of computers, added "Barry's right. She won't say no if that's why you're worried."

"I know, it's just a little nerve wracking."

"This is the part where Kate would tell you man the hell up already and just get down on one knee." Tony joked, not an ounce of sadness in his voice. The more he talked about Kate and not try and bury his feelings, the easier it was to move past his grief. Plus, it felt good making sure she had a word in this.

"I'm sure she would've." Jane laughed in agreement. "You really think she'd approve?"

"Definitely. We all look out for Maura just the same as Kate did, and we approve 100% and she would, too."

"Thank you, that means a lot to hear." Jane replied with sincerity, grateful to know Kate would approve of them getting married. While she did accept their relationship, Jane never got the chance to ask about marriage. They spoke on the phone several times before Kate's untimely death, and even though the two had never met in person, Jane also missed the fallen agent. Especially after hearing the many wonderful stories Maura had shared of her, feeling like she got to know her some.

The conversation had moved to sports, over which teams were better, when Maura called Jane over to her.

"Would you help me in the kitchen? I need to carry some things out here."

"Of course." Jane responded, and held open the kitchen door for her as they entered the house. "You having a good time?"

"Yes, I'm so glad you came up with the idea. I've really missed them. I know the others have, too. I love that everyone is getting along."

"Yeah, me too. They've got a lot in common with one another. Gibbs and Korsak being Marines, Frost and McGee with their tech stuff, Tony and Tommy with their wacky sense of humor... The list goes on."

"Exactly." Maura hummed in agreement as they gathered food on the counter, occasionally bumping into one another or grazing the other's hip with their hand. The simple touches were done absentmindedly and out of habit, the two of them both loving it.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are today?" Jane asked, inching closer to Maura, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Maura grinned from ear to ear at Jane's words and affectionate touch and played along. "I don't believe so."

"Hmm... My apologies, then." Jane chuckled, and moved her mouth to kiss behind Maura's ear. "You're the most beautiful person in the entire world."

"Have you met everyone in the entire world? There's over 7 billion people, how can you be so sure I'm the most beautiful?"

Holding back an exaggerated groan, Jane proceeded to kiss along Maura's neck, reveling in the content sigh the Medical Examiner emitted.

"I just know... I could travel the world and meet every single person, but that would mean an awful lot of time away from you. I don't think either of us would want that." Jane snuggled closer and held Maura in her strong arms, both enjoying their moment along together. She pressed a soft kiss to her honey blonde hair and simply said "I love you."

"I love you, too." Maura replied, and gave Jane quick kiss on the lips. "We should get back out there before someone thinks we were up to something for taking so long."

"Yeah, we know all too well how the guys can be." Jane laughed in agreement, always getting teased by her brothers and partners. It was always with love of course.

"Oh, someone left the TV on." Maura commented as she happened to glance in the living room, where Jo Friday was happily gnawing on a new rawhide bone Jane bought for her that morning.

"I'll go turn it off."

"No, that's ok." Maura assured, noticing how Jane's hands were starting to get full from the stuff she was carrying. She didn't want her to go through the small trouble of putting everything down. "I can do it."

She gave her one last kiss and went into the living room. Maura picked up the remote, about to turn the flat screen off, when she froze after seeing the headline on the news.

Her knees gave out, and she plops down on the couch, shell shocked.

Jane had all of the food in her arms, ready to go out back again, when she called to Maura. "Babe, you coming?"

She knew, given the short distance and silence in the house, that Maura must've heard her. Jane sensed something was wrong and put the food on the counter, and immediately went over to her girlfriend.

Jane squatted in front of her and tentatively asked "Honey, what's wrong?"

"Look at the TV." Maura's voice was just barely above a whisper. Jane could tell she was frightened.

The brunette took the remote from her hands to turn up the volume, and caught the recap of the breaking story.

_"Just hours ago, Ian Faulkner escaped police custody. Faulkner was set to go on trial in Boston after being brought over from Stad Van Hitte, Africa for his long list of national and international crimes. The Australian native was the second hand man for Charles Hoyt, the leader of a large drug ring. After Hoyt was killed two years ago during an undercover operation, Faulkner took his place running things despite being in prison. The 40 year old was brought over to Boston yesterday morning, and on the way to his court hearing today, the police van he was contained in crashed. Eyewitness reports say that two armed men opened the back of the van and helped Faulkner into their car and sped away. The FBI and police, both here and in Africa, currently have no leads on where he may have gone, but are assuring they're doing their best to get Ian Faulkner back into custody to stand trial for his crimes."_

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**Oh no! Ian escaped custody? Hmm, I wonder what he's gonna do? ;)**

**Damn it... That ruined Jane's proposal plans, maybe she'll get to pop the question soon? :)**

**Hope you guys liked the first chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Thanks for so many follows already! You guys are great. :D**

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Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 2

"Hey..." Jane started in a calm and soothing tone, still on her knees in front of the couch trying to comfort Maura. "Just because Ian escaped custody does not mean he's after us. For all we know he could be out of Boston and long gone by now."

"I know that's a possibility, but the thought of him coming for any of us is terrifying."

"I know, sweetie. But I'll protect you." Jane promised, making Maura smile just a little. "And there's a whole bunch of people out back that's willing to do the same."

"Thank you, Jane."

"Of course." She replied, and gave Maura a chaste kiss on the lips. "You think you can go back out there or no?"

"Well, we can't just kick them out." Maura said with a small smirk, and added "They're our family."

Jane laughed and rolled her eyes. "I know that... But I would've said you felt sick or something and went to lie down for a while. They don't have to leave unless you asked."

"I think I'm ok. I just need a minute to collect my thoughts and I'll be out."

"Alright, I'll just get the food and bring it outside." Jane gave her another kiss, this time on the cheek, and went back into the kitchen to retrieve the food. She gathered the items in her arms as used a finger to slide open the glass door, closing it over with a foot. Jane brought the food over to the table, where her mother and Abby were still talking.

"Everything ok, baby?" Angela asked when she noticed her daughter, seeing a troubled expression on her face. "You look a little worried about something."

Abby looked at Jane and thought it was about the proposal, having been told her plans over Skype, and gave her an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, Ma. Everything's fine. I'm just really hungry... I'm gonna go fire up these burgers and hot dogs on the grill." After her excuse, which wasn't an entire lie, she walked over to the guys and put the dish holding the food onto a table beside the grill. "We've got a problem."

"Don't tell me you're chickening out on us, Janie."

"Frankie, I'm being serious."

The grave look on her face showed that something is very wrong, worse than proposal jitters.

"What's going on?" Frost asked, immediately concerned.

"Ian Faulkner escaped police custody."

Her partner's eyes widen in shock. "What?!"

"Maura and I just saw it on the news... She's kinda shook up by it."

Gibbs, who was fully explained the events of Africa, both good and bad, asked "When and where?"

"This morning, in Boston. Apparently he was brought over for crimes committed here. I don't know any details except the fact that two armed men crashed the van he was in on the way to the courthouse, and helped him get away. No one knows where they're at."

"Shit..." Frost cursed, jaw clenched tightly. "I thought this was all behind us."

"Me, too." Jane sighed as she ran a hand through her thick black hair, frustrated and not knowing what to do.

"So where's Maura?" Frankie wondered, looking around the backyard but didn't see her.

"She's inside." Jane responded, tilting her head towards the house. "She'll come out, but she needed a minute."

"Are you still going to... You know."

Jane sighed again, much louder this time and clearly getting more and more frustrated. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea today. Once we know a little more, that we're safe and in the clear, I'll find the perfect moment again. I'll call Lieutenant Ballard, see what he might know about this."

"I'm sorry, sis."

Jane shrugged and waved the apology off. "It's alright, Frankie. I'll ask Maura soon. I'm just mad at this whole Ian thing..."

Just then, the group heard the back door slide open and shut, and Maura stepped outside.

"I'm gonna go check on her... Don't say a word about this to Ma, ok? I don't want her worrying over what could be nothing."

They all shook their heads yes, agreeing it wouldn't be a good idea to have more people than necessary worrying. Jane thanked them and went over to her girlfriend, wrapping an arm around her waist. She kissed the side of her head and whispered "Are you ok?"

Maura leant on Jane's shoulder and replied "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you. Hopefully we don't have anything to worry about. So..." Her tone shifted, an obvious sign of changing the subject, which Jane was more than happy to do for her. "Do you still want that pasta salad? I finished it before we went inside."

"Hell yes!" Jane grinned, and the two sit down with their family. "So Abs, when are you due again?"

The forensic scientist rubbed a hand over her large stomach, unable to wipe the smile off her face even if she tried or wanted to.

"Just a month to go." She proudly answered. "Tim hasn't stopped worrying the whole time."

McGee laughed, and in an obvious mock defensive tone, said "Hey! Of course I worry, that's my baby in there."

"Honey, my ex-husband was the same way each time I was pregnant. You better get used to it." Angela warned her goth friend with a laugh.

"Oh, I am! I love how attentive and caring he's been, even more than usual. He's the sweetest." At this, Tim blushed a bright shade of pink and Abby leant over to kiss him. "Stop being embarrassed, you big softie."

Maura, who was sitting on Jane's lap, felt a vibration in her pocket. Pulling out her phone, she slid off Jane's lap and said "Excuse me."

The Medical Examiner went over to the corner of the yard for some privacy to take the call. She answered with her usual professional tone.

"Hello, this is Doctor Maura Isles."

"Maura..." A familiar male voice spoke, sending chills down Maura's spine. "It's been a long time."

"Ian..." She whispered, her hazel eyes widen in fear and skin paled.

Ian chuckled humorlessly. "Glad you remember me. I most certainly remember you."

"What do you want?"

"Revenge. For what you did to me, and to my brother."

The second reason momentarily threw Maura off, puzzling her. "Your brother?"

"Of course you wouldn't remember him. It's not like you murdered him in cold blood or anything..." He snidely responded, obvious hate and disgust in his voice.

Maura turned to face Jane, and her horrified expression is more than enough for the Sergeant to bolt over to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about... And what I did to you was completely justified."

Jane had just made it over to her, and made a gesture to Maura to hand over the phone, but the doctor shook her head no.

"You shot my baby brother that night, and let him drown in a pool. You and those two detectives are dead."

Ian hung up, and Maura began shaking again.

"Maur, who was that?"

"Ian. He..." Maura paused to swallow a hard lump in her throat. "He wants to kill me, you, and Barry. I did something that night we saved you, and Ian wants revenge."

Jane furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "What did you do?"

Despite fighting the urge to cry, Maura's tears spilled over. "I shot and killed someone."

"Maura..." Jane struggled to find the right words to say. She remembered reading that in the report, hearing it from Frost since that action saved his life, and then comforting Maura about it afterwords. "I know, and I'm so sorry you had to do that, but why does Ian care? Did he know the guy?"

Maura shook her head yes. "It was his brother."

"Shit..." Jane cursed and looked at everyone in the yard, and thought for a moment. "Alright, I need to cut this BBQ short. Go inside, try and stay calm. I'll talk with the guys and set some things up. It'll be ok, Maura. He won't get any of us, I promise."

"Ok." Maura breathed out uneasily. "You'll come in soon, right?"

"Just as soon as I tell them." Jane promised with a hug, and felt how shaky Maura was. "Ma! Come here, please."

Angela put down the food she was making with Cavanaugh, and came over to the two frightened women as asked.

"Jane... What's going on? Are you alright, Maura?" Angela tentatively asked the crying woman.

"I'll explain everything in a few minutes, Ma." Jane promised. "Could you just bring Maura inside? I need to talk with the guys about something."

"Absolutely." Her mother said, and wrapped an arm around Maura's shoulder. "Come on in, honey. Let's get you some water to help you relax."

Jane wasted no time and hurried over to the men, who were all still talking about Ian and what may or may not happen.

"Ian just called Maura... He wants revenge for what happened in Africa. Frost, that guy Maura shot to save you, was Ian's brother." Jane informed, his shocked expression matched hers when she was told the same thing. "He said he plans to kill the three of us."

"Like hell he will!" Tony nearly shouted, his stance shifting into a protective one. "Boss, I'm gonna need to take some more time off."

"Right there with you, DiNozzo." Gibbs had no problem with this, the moment Jane finished speaking he shared the same thought. "We had your backs a year and a half ago, and we have them now. As long as your boss clears it, we'll work this with you. We will anyway, even if he doesn't let us."

"Thank you... I just don't want you guys getting hurt." Jane worriedly replied, but also greatly appreciated the two of them ready to help without even being asked.

"There's no way we would just sit back and let something happen to either of you." Gibbs nearly scoffed, but out of anyone in the group, he remained the most calm. "I'm going to call the Director of NCIS and tell her we're going to be staying for a little while longer. She'll be more than understanding... Jenny owes me a favor anyway."

"I've known you for a while now..." Jane began with a smirk, shaking her head slightly. "You won't take no for an answer."

"No."

"Alright." She laughed, and then said more seriously "Just... In case things get bad, be careful."

"We will." Both Gibbs and Tony said at the same time, and the younger Agent told the group "I'm gonna go fill in McGee on this, he'll want to take Abby somewhere safe especially."

Jane nodded in understanding. "I'm going back in the house and see how Maura is doing, then make some calls."

The Sergeant left the group, who had scattered the yard to do whatever they had to, and went into her home in search of Maura. She found her within a minute, sitting on the couch while her mother rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"This is all my fault." Jane heard her say. "If I listened to Jane that day, she wouldn't have gotten taken, and I wouldn't have hurt Ian or shot his brother."

"Maura, that is absolutely not your fault! You can't blame yourself for that." Angela calmly scolded, and brought her into a hug. "What you did that night saved Jane and Barry. I know you feel guilty about it still, but you did it with good reason. If there's anyone to blame, it's that Ian fellow."

"She's right." Jane agreed, and the two women on the couch lifted their heads up at the sound of her voice. "You've got nothing to feel guilty about. Ian is a bad guy, and so were those men back in Africa. Like you said to him on the phone, your actions were justified. Don't let him get in your head and tell you any different."

"I know... It's just... Hard." Maura admitted as she wiped fresh tears that didn't stop flowing. Jane sat on the other side of her on the couch to hold her as well, her comforting touch instantly soothing. "What's going to happen? Did you talk to them out there?"

"I did, yeah... They're requesting more time off and are gonna help us with this." Maura started to say something, but Jane knew what it was and held up a hand. "I already told them I was worried about them getting hurt, and they refused to take no for an answer. They want to help us again, just like before."

"I should've known they'd say that, given how stubborn they are..." Maura said with a half sigh and half laugh. "What about Abby? Surely she is going home."

"I'm not sure... But I don't think she'll wanna leave us."

"But what if it isn't safe?"

"Honey, we've got 2 BPD Sergeants and Detectives, a Lieutenant, 3 NCIS Agents, the rest of BPD, and most likely the FBI, all willing to protect us... I think we're very safe."

"That does sound rather comforting... So it would be safe to stay here, then?"

"I think so. They probably know where we live, and know the kind of connections we have. A direct attack on us here wouldn't be a good idea."

"What about work? Would all of us be safe there, too?" Angela nervously asked her oldest child, but at the same time felt relief hearing Jane's words.

"Definitely. That place is crawling with officers and detectives, not to mention I'll have someone with both of you at all times. Ian won't get us." Jane said with conviction and determination, putting them at ease some. "I need to make a call to Lieutenant Ballard, but I'll be right back, ok?"

Just as they nodded their heads in understanding, Frost, Frankie, Korsak, Sean, and Gibbs came in from the backyard.

"They'll keep you safe, and so will I." Jane promised, and gave Maura a kiss before leaving the room to make her call. She went into the office Maura sometimes used to work from home, and decided against sitting down. She paced the room while searching through the contacts on her phone, and pressed the one she needed. Three rings later, a familiar voice picked up.

"Sergeant Rizzoli..." Lieutenant Jacob Ballard greeted with a friendly tone. "I knew you'd call."

"Then you know why, too... I'm gonna need everything you've got on this."

"Sit down if you aren't already, we're going to be on the phone for a while."

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**Oh boy! Things are starting to heat up a bit. So many possibilities... Will Ian get to one of them? Or will the BPD and NCIS gang be able to stop him? Keep reading and find out! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**This chapter is a little longer than the other two, but don't get used to it. I plan on keeping the chapters somewhat short, so I can update faster. I just couldn't find a good place to break this one. Hope you guys enjoy! :D**

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Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 3

Jane sat down with the men of BPD and NCIS, and explained everything Lieutenant Ballard had told her, since he was the one in charge of the case until Ian was brought over to the states.

"After Ian was arrested, they had him at their police headquarters for about a month until his trial. He confessed to all his crimes, fearing that Hoyt would come after him. He didn't know right away that his boss was killed, and we kept it that way. It wasn't until he was in court did he find out, and was immediately very angry. He tried attacking his own lawyer, and his sentence was increased. He was sitting in his prison cell for over year, only being allowed out for an hour a day. So we're thinking he made contact with his men that way, despite the guards keeping a close eye on him. Since he confessed to crimes committed in Boston, they decided to bring him over here to stand trial. We all know how that went..."

"Have they spoken with the inmates he could have talked to get a message out?" Gibbs asked the Sergeant, and she nodded her head yes. "I take it nothing came up then?"

"Nothing. We suspect there may be departmental leaks, but have no idea who or how many."

"There could be some at BPD, we should take precautions just in case..." Korsak commented. "I have a few men I can absolutely trust, though."

"Are you sure? Is it worth the risk by going to them?"

Not being offended by Tony's lack of faith in the officers and detectives, Korsak understood him. "Without a doubt, I'm positive I can trust them. Two of them I grew up with in Southie and fought in the war together, we always have each other's back."

"Then that's good enough for me. Boss, we should work out a protection detail plan for Maura."

Before Gibbs could respond, Jane cut in and said "I'll be by her side the entire time until this is over."

"Jane... That's not a good idea."

"Why not?!" Jane scoffed at her younger brother.

"Because he's after you, too. It wouldn't be smart to have two of his targets together. You should be separate in case something happens."

"Frankie, I get what you're saying but there's no way in hell I'm leaving her. I'm part of her protection detail whether anyone likes it or not."

"I know... But we have to think of you, too. We have to keep both of you safe and if something happens, we don't want both of you getting hurt."

"So let Maura get hurt instead? Is that what you're saying?!"

Frankie put up his hands to placate her growing anger. "No! That's not what I'm saying. It may give us a slight advantage and buy us some time."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked, a little calmer this time.

"If Ian knows you're apart, then chances are he'll wait to make a move. He's got a limited number of thugs under his control, so he probably won't go after all three of you at the same time."

"I see where you're going with this..." Tony chimed in again. "You think we keep them apart, knowing he's watching, and it'll buy us time to try and find him."

"Exactly."

"Not a bad plan... But what if we aren't able to track Ian or his guys down? He'll have to make a move eventually."

"I'm counting on that. If we aren't able to find them, then we set up a trap. We make it look like Jane, Maura, and Frost are all together somewhere for whatever reason. Make it look as if there's a hole in our protection detail. Let him slip through and we catch him."

"Live bait?"

Frankie shook his head at the agent. "No, just make it look like they're all together. We should get them out of the state for a while."

"And what about Ma and Abby?" Jane finally spoke up again, after listening intently to her brother's plan. She seemed to be going along with it, thinking it may be a good idea. Hopefully it worked. "They've both gotta come with us."

"We should have Ma in the cafe... And before you yell, I have a reason. If she isn't working, they'll know something is up. We have to make it appear is if we're going on with our lives as normal. I'll be with Ma myself, Cavanaugh is probably going to be too. Right, sir?"

"I don't know..." Sean replied, a little unsure. "This plan is good, but how can we be sure it works?"

"I don't have any other ideas, so I'm open to anything you've got."

"I have a friend in the FBI who can help us. He'll monitor suspicious activity and chatter, and give us a heads up so we're ready for anything. If there's a mole in any agency, he'll try to find them." Gibbs said as he walked away, taking out his cellphone and pressing speed dial. The phone rang twice before someone on the other end picked up. "Tobias, I need a favor."

While Gibbs made his call on the other side of the room, the rest of the gang kept thinking of other possible ways to end this and keep everyone safe. It was during that, that McGee finally said "I can work on tracking the source of the call. Barry, will you bring me to BPD? If we go at this together, our chances are doubled at getting a trace before it gets too cold."

"Right. We may not find anything, but it's worth a shot." Frost got off the chair he was sitting and grabbed his jacket. "You all stay here, I'll be safe at BPD. I don't think Ian is stupid enough to attack a police station."

Abby, who overheard the conversation from where she sat on the couch, called her husband over. "Tim... I don't like this."

"Abs, try and stay calm. This Faulkner guy isn't after me, and I doubt he knows I'm even here or exists."

"But if he goes after Barry, you'll be with him."

"We're going to be at a police department, full of heavily armed officers and detectives. I know you'll still worry, but I'm going to be ok, so will Barry. We need to get a move on to find him, so we can end this fast and without anyone getting hurt. The longer we wait, the more time we're giving Faulkner to strike."

"You swear to me you won't get yourself hurt or killed." The forensic scientist could hardly believe herself for letting him leave, not wanting to let her husband and father of her unborn child do something potentially very dangerous. She knew he was right though. He had a window and it was closing fast. If anyone could find Ian, it was Timothy McGee.

"I swear that I'll come back to you in the same condition I'm in now." He smiled, and leant down to kiss her. Tim then walked over to his boss, and said "I know I don't have to tell you to protect her."

"And you know I don't have to tell you I'd protect her with my life."

Satisfied with the response, McGee joined Frost at the front door and was ready to head out. Just as they're about to leave, Maura suddenly appeared and hugged both of them.

"Thank you for doing this." She told them, with gratefulness obvious in her voice. "I'm sorry you have to work on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation."

"It's not a problem, Maura." Tim assured her when the hug ended. "An agent never truly stops working. You can even ask Gibbs."

"Neither does a detective." Frost added with a grin, and Maura is unable to herself from returning a smile.

"Be careful, you two."

"We will." They both say at the same time, and exited the house through the front door. The two of them made their way to Frost's sedan that was parked by the curb.

Maura watched through the window as they safely got into the car and drove off, disappearing around the corner at the end of the block.

Jane noticed the worried look on her face, and went over to comfort her girlfriend in a hug.

"There's a lot of us, Maur. Try not to worry. Nothing is going to happen."

The ME sighed, but relaxed into the embrace, welcoming the comfort Jane's arms always brought her.

"I can't help but worry..." She admitted. "Ian may not have an army after us, but what if a small group or one man is enough to get us?"

"Hey." Jane tightened her hold as Maura became upset. "That's not gonna happen. I promise you that I won't let anything happen to any of us. The guys have our backs on this. Ian would be pretty stupid to try anything with our numbers."

Though Maura felt slightly better at Jane's assurance, she was still worried and it was evident in her tone.

"What did you all talk about over there?"

"I told them what Lieutenant Ballard told me... Ian's confession, his time in prison, then coming here and escaping."

"Out of all the bad things I thought could happen, this was not one of them. I thought with what went down in Africa that Ian would be viewed as traitor, or mentally unstable to work with."

"I thought that, too... Until he made contact with the remaining crew in Boston. Remember I told you that Frost and I were on a case that led us to start the undercover operation?" At Maura's nod, Jane continued. "It all started with us investigating the murder of a young girl. No older than 15, I'd say. We later found out she accidentally witnessed a drug deal, and was killed because of it."

"That poor girl..."

"I know... But we managed to trace ballistics to a gun owned by one of the thugs. We stumbled onto a huge drug and weapons operation, and saw it as a chance to take down even more murderers. Even though Frost and I are homicide and not vice, we were allowed undercover to infiltrate the operation. We were undercover for several months until they started trusting us. About a year in, we were ready to take them all down. It was during that sting that we all discovered the drug ring was part of a much larger operation that spread across the globe. We worked the case more, and found the some of the crew had various transactions and flights to Africa. We had reason to believe it all started there, and that it could end there too... One murder led to a huge operation on another continent. Luckily our covers were still intact. So Frost and I went there. Fortunately for us, authorities there were willing to forget about jurisdictional issues and let us do our thing. Ballard was working the case there, and couldn't get concrete proof since every time he got close, the case went cold. He knew there was a leak somewhere. So he was more than willing to have us there, and pretty grateful too. That's right when I met you, and all of that stuff happened."

"Yes, of course. I could never forget those few weeks... That's when I met the love of my life." Maura finally smiled, as did Jane. "But I'm having a hard time understanding something."

"What?"

"How is Ian in charge of the operation? You and Barry either arrested or killed them all there."

"Yeah, that's true. There. But not in Boston. We thought we got everyone we here, but apparently not. Since Ian spent a lot of time in Boston, I guess the people here are still loyal to him. It's not like there's another leader they can look to. You and Frost took care of Hoyt, I saw that for myself."

"That makes sense, I suppose... How do you think Ian made contact with the crew here?"

"All it takes is one hour in the prison yard to pass along information, not to mention a possible leak in Ballard's department. He's a smart and careful guy, but maybe something slipped through... Whatever the case, we know Ian is in Boston. We know what he's planning to do. He'll make a move soon, then leave town as quickly as possible."

"What if he already left, and simply orders his men to do his dirty work?"

Jane thought about this for a moment. "That's a possibility, but Ian doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who wouldn't want to get revenge for something like this and not do it himself. Not that he'll have one, but he'll probably wait for the perfect opportunity and try to take it."

"Are you planning something?"

"Frankie has an idea, but I'm not sure if we're going with it yet. We'll see what Frost and McGee come up with and work from there. The guys look like they're still working on plans, so hopefully we'll have more options."

"Please don't do anything stupid and get yourself hurt..." Maura quietly begged, wrapping her arms around Jane to hold her close.

"I won't..." Jane promised with a chaste kiss on the lips. "If we go with Frankie's plan, we'll make it look like Ian has an opening. We're hoping he takes the bait. That's when we'll get him. The Boston operation is all that's left as far we know, so I'm fairly sure we can get rid of the rest of them and finally end this for good. Even if, and that's a very big if, we don't get all of them... I wouldn't worry. None of them have a personal vendetta against us like Ian does. So we'll probably be ok once we take Ian down."

"Probably?" She repeated, almost nervous again.

"It's too early to tell what's gonna happen after we get Ian, but we'll know more once we do. Once Frost and McGee get to the station, they'll be able to tell us something. You've got nothing to worry about. I promise."

"Ok... I trust you."

"Good." Jane smiled down at her, and kissed her once more. "Let's get something to eat. I'm still a little hungry."

Maura laughed as they made their way into the kitchen, and joked "You're always hungry. Your stomach is like a bottomless pit. I don't know how you stay in such fantastic shape."

"Hey! I don't eat all the time." Jane playfully glared. "And maybe I stay in great shape because of all the hot sex I have with my girlfriend, who has one hell of a libido."

Maura blushed a furious shade of red, and made sure no one was close enough to hear, but no one did.

"Jane!"

"What? It's true." She laughed, and made to sure to add "And I'm not hungry in my sleep."

"Oh, I beg to differ!" Maura said as she opened a bottle of water on the counter, and took a sip. "On quite a few occasions, I've heard you mumbling about burgers and pizza in your sleep. You've even drooled on our sheets."

Jane looked down Maura's shirt and didn't see any hives, knowing she wasn't lying. The Italian is shocked and embarrassed by the information, and doesn't comment on it. Making Maura display a proud smug expression on her face.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go eat..."

"Try not to drool on anything." Maura jokingly teased, and went into the living room where Angela and Abby sat on the couch.

"No promises!" She heard Jane shout, and grinned as she joined her family in the living room.

"What's Caf Pow?"

"What?!" Abby gasped in disbelief. "Angela, you haven't truly lived until you try it. It's one of the best drinks ever. I really wish I could have one right now."

"Oh, is it an alcoholic drink?"

"No, but it has a lot of caffeine and I can't drink any while pregnant."

"Ah, I understand. I missed having coffee while I was pregnant. It was even worse considering it was one of my strongest cravings. I blame Jane for that one... We all know how much she loves her coffee!" She joked, the three of them laughing loudly. "Why can't babies like caffeine?"

"I don't know, but I sure wish they did because it would make this pregnancy a lot easier. But I'm not going to take any risks on my baby, I can hold out another month."

"Isn't there a caffeine free Caf Pow?" Maura asked her long time friend, remembering seeing a few cups of it back at the agency in DC.

"Yeah, but it doesn't really taste as good. Where's the fun in that?"

Just then, Jane called out from the kitchen and shouted "Any of you guys want some food?"

"I don't know about you two, but this pregnant lady is starving..." Abby said as she struggled to get up from the couch, her large belly making it difficult. So she plopped back down with a frustrated huff. Even though she was pouting, Abby couldn't help but laugh at herself. "You guys mind helping me up?"

Maura and Angela laughed as they rose to their feet and helped pull Abby up, holding her hands as she waddled into the kitchen where everyone else had gathered, also pretty hungry. While they all ate, they kept up the discussion of plans and ideas to keep everyone safe between bites.

"No, you go sit down at the table." Jane insisted after seeing the struggle. "Just tell me what you want and I'll bring it to you."

"Thanks, Jane. My ankles are so swollen I don't know how long I can stand up longer than a few minutes anymore... I'll just have a little of everything. It all looks really good."

"That's because Maura and my Ma did most of the cooking. I have no cooking or baking skills whatsoever, so I just went and got all the stuff."

"How many times have I told you that I can teach you?" Angela questioned in a huff. "Your grandmother is probably rolling over in her grave right now."

"Hey! Not my fault work gets in the way and keeps me busy." Jane replied, throwing her hands up in a defensive manner. "And Grandma taught me how to make her gnocchi, so there."

"Oh you better know how to after the years and years worth of Sunday dinners we've had it."

While the mother and daughter bickered over the food, Maura helped Abby sit down at the dining room table.

"I really love their relationship..." Abby commented as she watched the friendly dispute from across the room.

"Me too... I wish Constance was like Angela. Even though Kate's mother wasn't biologically mine, I loved her as if she were. It's a shame she passed away so young."

"Yeah..." Abby sighed. "I wish I could've met her. All the stories you and Kate told me about her, she sounded like one amazing lady."

"She definitely was." Maura agreed, thinking of several fond memories of the late woman. "She was a lot like Angela, actually. So warm and loving. I suppose that's why we get along so well. I feel very lucky to be a part of this family. I just wish her and Kate were here to see all of it."

"I think they're here, in some way..."

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the Boston Police Department..._

After being given proper clearance, McGee worked alongside Frost in BRIC in hopes they could track down Ian and his men. They talked with the Drug Unit, to see if there was an increase in drug related crimes, but nothing to be wary of. Though there was a little chatter, no more arrests have been made than usual.

"Thanks to my boss' friend in the FBI, I have access to high level files that would otherwise be classified. This'll definitely help our search." Tim commented with relief, grateful that Gibbs' friend Fornell was able to come through for them.

While McGee worked on finding various suspects and known criminals with ties to the organization, Frost was working tracing the cell phone that Ian used to call Maura. Her number wasn't exactly public, but a lot of her colleagues knew it. So it may have been relatively easy to hack into their phones to find her number.

"I'm not getting anything yet..." Frost knew finding the phone would be difficult, especially since Ian would be smart enough to get rid of it. But so far, this was their only lead. "Anything on your end?"

"No, not yet. So far I'm only finding names of people that are either in custody or dead. Whoever helped Ian escape must've been lying low after your undercover operation."

"Check to see if Ian had any visitors while he was in prison, maybe we'll have some luck and someone slipped up. Since the threat on Maura's life is personal, maybe he's got other family members helping him out."

"On it."

They were silent for several minutes, except for the occasional question or comment about the case, when Frost got up from his chair and said "I'm gonna get us some coffee while that trace is going. It keeps bouncing from place to place, so it could take a while before the location is narrowed down."

Frost left the room, only to return a minute later with two mugs in his hand, the smell of freshly brewed coffee steaming out of them. He placed one by Tim, who thanked him in response. The silence resumed for quite some time, both deeply engrossed in their searches.

"I've got a name." McGee suddenly announced, his voice being the only sound that filled the quiet room apart from the clicking and typing on the computers. "It looks like he works in Stad Van Hitte as a cop. This has got to be our leak."

Frost rolled over in his desk chair to his friend in a near instant, excited that he found their first big lead.

"Who is he?"

"Trevor Ballard. I found his name after cross referencing people who had contact with Ian Faulkner. Any family he had is dead, I double checked. It looks like this Trevor guy visited Ian several times while he was in prison. Trevor's name keeps coming up alongside another known convicted felon and associate of Faulkner's, Marco Rodriguez."

"Holy shit." Frost gasped when he saw the information for himself. He didn't think McGee was lying, but he just couldn't believe a man he worked with, a man he trusted with his life, was somehow involved in all of this.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, I do... Trevor Ballard is the Lieutenant's son."

* * *

**Uh oh! So that's who the leak is? Hopefully you guys remember Trevor from DWB. He was a somewhat important character the first half of the story. I wonder if his dad knows, and who else may be involved. Will everyone be safe? Hmm... Find out what happens next chapter! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Oh boy, if Trevor is a bad guy, I wonder who else could be too. At least we know for sure we can trust our BPD and NCIS teams. :D**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 4

"Hey, bud." Jane greeted her partner on the phone. "You go anything for us?"

"Yeah, but I don't think we should talk on the phone about it."

The Sergeant sensed worry in his voice. "How bad is it?"

"Bad."

"Alright..." She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, then asked "You want me to come there or will you be back here soon?"

"Tim opted to stay here and keep working at this, but I'm coming back. You be careful, Jane."

"You too, partner." She ended the call at sat in the chair for a moment, wondering what could've spooked Frost enough to make him sound that worried.

Whatever it is, Jane knew she needed to prepare herself and the others.

She walked back into the living room and saw everyone laughing at a story Maura was telling. It broke Jane's heart to have to put an end to this, so she decided to keep Maura happy and distracted for a little while longer. Even if for a few minutes.

Jane discreetly pulled Gibbs aside, without interrupting whatever funny story was being told.

"We've got a problem." Jane simply told him. "Frost and McGee found something big. Whatever it is sounds serious enough that they couldn't tell me over the phone."

"What are you thinking?" The special agent asked her, instantly concerned.

"I need to go to BPD soon, to stock up on guns and ammo. All I have here is my glock and two rounds..."

"I only brought my hip and holster service weapons... Same for Dinozzo and McGee. If things get bad, which they might, we have to be prepared. Are we able to borrow some more firepower from the station?"

"I don't know." Jane answered honestly as she shrugged. "Maybe... I'll have to ask Cavanaugh, but given the situation it may not be a problem."

"I'll talk to him." He looked over at the women and said "You should tell Maura, Abby, and your mother. Make sure they stay calm."

"Right... Did you guys think of any other plans yet? I'm no so sure about Frankie's. It's good, but there could be risks."

"I agree... And no, we didn't come up with anything else yet. Once Frost and McGee get back here and tells us what they found, it may be helpful." Jane nodded in agreement, and as she started walking away, Gibbs whispered "Good luck, Rizzoli."

_'Yeah, I'm gonna need it...'_ She thought to herself. _'Maura is strong enough to handle this. Abby might be too, but I don't wanna stress her out with the baby and all. But Ma? She's probably going to freak out the most.'_

Jane shook her head to will away the thoughts, but the worry still remained in the back of her mind. As sat down on the end of the couch next to her girlfriend, Maura noticed her presence and reached out for her hand.

Maura could tell that the smile on Jane's face is forced, and Jane saw in her hazel eyes that fear had returned in them.

"Is everything alright, sweetheart?"

The words caught Abby and Angela's attention, and the two look at Jane, wanting to hear her response.

Jane breathed out deeply and said "I don't know all of the details yet, but apparently Frost and McGee found something. I have no idea what yet, but it's bad enough for them to worry."

"Are they alright? Did something happen to either of them?"

"They're both fine, I promise." Jane was quick to assure her. "McGee is staying at BPD to keep working on whatever he's doing, but Frost is coming back to tell us what's up."

"Will Tim be ok there?"

"He'll be fine. He isn't by himself, there's dozens of people there that'll have his back."

Abby visibly relaxed at the assurance, while Angela asked "What about us? Are we ok here? Does this Ian guy know where we are?"

"He knew Maura's cell phone, so he probably has her address too... But I think we're safe here for now. He just escaped police custody, and most likely needs time to plan something. I was telling Maura and the guys that it would be pretty stupid for him to attack here. He knows the kind of connections we've got, which led us to think of ideas of how to trap him."

"Janie, are you thinking of doing something dangerous and stupid?"

"Ma, don't worry. I'll be fine. He won't get near any of us."

"So, do you have a plan?" Maura asked, still holding her hand, now a little more tightly since her worry had increased again.

"One so far, but I don't know how I feel about it yet. We're waiting for Frost to tell us his discovery and go from there. He should be here-" Just then, Frost came in through the front door, and Jane smiled at the timing. "Right about now."

The young detective immediately walked over to Jane and asked "Can we talk in private for a minute?"

"Sure..." Jane turned to the three women on the couch and told them "I'll be right back."

She followed Frost into the home office and closed the door behind them.

"What's going on?"

"Trevor Ballard is dirty."

"What? I don't... What?" Jane sputtered in disbelief.

"I didn't believe it myself at first, but Tim found undeniable proof. He's our leak. I don't know how, but he helped Ian escape."

"Shit..." Jane cursed, in shock at the news. "He helped back in Africa. If he's dirty, then why did he risk his life to help save mine?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing he knew that the ring was close to collapsing over there and couldn't risk being caught. He had no choice but to help us."

"Did you find anything that suggests his brother or father is dirty, too?" Jane inwardly cringed at the thought. It was one thing for Trevor to be bad, but the Lieutenant? The pair had grown close over the past 2 years, and she hated to think he was involved as well.

"They look clean to me, but I'm not 100% sure yet... So far, Trevor is the only one we have proof on. I didn't want to go to anyone else with this just in case he isn't the only one involved."

"I just can't believe this... I trusted him."

"Me too." Frost sighed loudly. "So what now? The lieutenant is probably expecting us to update him. Even if he isn't involved, we can't tell him. Not right away at least. He could inadvertently let Trevor know we're on to him."

"That's true, but we can't keep him in the dark forever. Then Trevor will definitely know something is up. Damn... This makes things even more difficult for us." Jane paused for a moment, and suddenly snapped her fingers. "I have an idea, it just might work."

"What is it?" Frost eagerly asked. He didn't know what the hell to do, so he was grateful that Jane came up with something.

"Maybe we tell Lieutenant Ballard about Frankie's plan, but not actually do it. Make it look like we're moving Maura."

"Like we have her holed up in a hotel with lots of ways to get to her..." Frost finished, knowing where Jane was headed with the idea.

"Bingo." Jane smirked. "We'll have a few of us undercover to patrol the area and wait until we see one of them."

"Sounds like a plan. Should we keep everyone here, or somewhere else?"

"I don't know yet. Let's catch everyone up to speed and see what they think we should do."

Frost nodded, opened the office door and extended a hand out. "After you."

* * *

A few hours had passed, the sun setting a while ago, and everyone was starting to get tired. Maura offered Abby to sleep in the guest bedroom, and the poor and stressed out pregnant woman was more than happy to accept. When McGee finally returned, safely and without any more helpful information, he joined his wife.

The next who gave in to sleep was Angela, who went over to the guest house with Sean.

Korsak, Frost, Frankie, Gibbs, and Tony all decided to take shifts throughout the night. Two would remain awake on guard while the others slept, and switched it up every so often.

Tommy was the only one who didn't stay, wanting to be with his wife and son. To make sure they stayed safe, Korsak had one of his trusted men sitting out front of his apartment to watch over the young family. Though he wasn't with all of them, they felt better knowing he was being looked out for. The youngest Rizzoli sibling was eager to leave and be with them. Even though they weren't the ones Ian was after, it was possible they could be used as leverage.

Meanwhile, Jane and Maura also turned in for the night and welcomed the comfort their soft bed brought them.

As Jane placed her gun on the nightstand to change into her BPD sweats, Maura said "Thank you."

"For what?" Jane asked, puzzled by the words.

"For loving me and standing by my side throughout all of this. For wanting to keep me and the others safe."

Jane crawled into bed with a smile on her face and kissed Maura softly. "I'm doing this because I love all of you. You don't need to thank me for that. I would do anything for you."

"Anything?" Maura repeated with a grin.

"Yeah."

"Would you let me be the big spoon tonight? I would feel a lot better if I were the one holding you."

"How can I refuse a request like that?" Jane joked, and kissed her once more before turning over.

Maura scooted closer, pressing her front to Jane's back, and wrapped her arms around her waist. She sighed in content, kissing her shoulder and neck with little pecks.

"Goodnight, my love."

Jane held Maura's hand in her own, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Night, Maur."

* * *

Sometime during the middle of the night, Jane woke from her deep sleep. After more than a half an hour of restlessness, she decided to go downstairs and get a drink. She carefully lifted Maura's arm that loosely clung to her body off of her, and placed it on top of the pillow. She froze when Maura briefly stirred, but didn't wake, and instead clutched the pillow.

Jane smiled at the sight and tip toed out of the room, not closing the door all the way so she didn't make any more noise than necessary. After the day's events, she wanted Maura to sleep as peacefully as possible.

The thirsty woman made her way into the dark kitchen, not bothering to turn the light on since she knew her way around without it, and not wanting to disturb her sleeping family in the living room.

She opened the fridge door, the light inside illuminating a small radius around her, and scanned the contents until she found something that would satisfy her enough. Jane grabbed the half drunken Gatorade bottle and shut the door.

When she turned around, Jane heard a loud crash coming from the direction of the back room, next to where Tim and Abby were sleeping.

In a flash, she placed the sports drink on the counter and took out a large kitchen knife from a drawer, closing it as quietly as possible.

Jane watched as her brother and Tony sprung into action, the pair training their guns towards the hall and quickly disappearing around the corner.

She rushed to the bottom of the steps just as Gibbs is roused from his sleepy state, who immediately jumped up when he noticed Jane tensed with a knife in hand.

Jane placed a single finger against her lips so Gibbs remained silent. He pulled out his service weapon from its holster, that he had fallen asleep with on, and prepared to head down the same hall Frankie and Tony went.

Jane made a hand signal to tell him she's going upstairs, meaning to check on Maura. He nodded in response, and parted ways with her.

Both temporarily stopped in their tracks, hairs standing up on the backs of their necks, at the sound of two gunshots coming from the end of the hall.

* * *

**Uh oh! Who got shot?! :0**

**And what do you think about the Ballards? Is Trevor acting alone, or is someone else in the family helping him? Hmm, idk... Find out soon! ;)**

**Thanks for reading! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Time to find out if anyone was hurt!**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 5

Jane ran to her and Maura's bedroom as fast as her long legs would allow, taking the stairs two at a time. The brunette swiftly but quietly made her way down the hallway, and just as she opened the door, Jane saw Maura flipping the covers off of her body and jumping out of bed.

"Jane..." Maura whispered in a panicky voice. "What's going on?"

"Shh..." Jane placed two fingers over her own lips to quiet Maura. "Go into the closet and shut the door. Do not come out until I give the ok."

Maura gave her an understanding nod and did as she was told, while Jane watched to make sure she was safely out of sight. She went over to the nightstand and retrieved her handgun, then double checked how much ammo was left in the clip before standing at the bedroom door. Jane didn't leave though, not wanting Maura to be alone.

It seemed like forever had passed during all of this, when it was really only 10 seconds since the gunshots rang loudly throughout the entire house.

Jane aimed her service weapon towards the staircase, anxiously waiting as a single bead of sweat slid down the side of her face. She adjusted her grip on the gun, her index finger ghosting along the trigger.

Just then, a very familiar howl of laughter echoed from downstairs.

"What the..." Jane whispered in confusion. She recognized the unexpected sound coming from her younger sibling, Frankie.

Suddenly, Gibbs yelled from the bottom of the steps. "It's alright. False alarm."

Jane relaxed and lowered her gun, exhaling roughly in a sigh of relief. "What the hell happened? Why is Frankie laughing?"

"Just come downstairs. You need to see for yourself."

Without asking to explain his cryptic answer, Jane rushed back into the bedroom and to the closet. When she opened the door, Jane saw Maura balled up and holding her knees to her chest in an attempt to reign in her fears.

The Medical Examiner looked up with wide and terrified eyes, and simply said "Jane."

Jane crouched down to her level and placed her gun on the floor so she could hold Maura. "Hey, it's ok. It's safe to come out now."

Maura wrapped her arms around Jane, and mumbled into her neck. "I'm so glad you're alright. What happened? Is everyone else ok?"

Before she replied, Jane tightened the hug, feeling how scared Maura was for everyone and herself by the way she was trembling. "Everyone's fine. Gibbs said it was a false alarm. I'm gonna go see what happened. Whatever it was must've been pretty funny... I could hear Frankie bustin' a gut from laughing so hard."

"I'm almost afraid to find out why..." Maura half joked with a laugh, feeling instant relief that nothing serious was wrong and her family wasn't harmed.

* * *

Maura and Jane walked down the steps together to see Gibbs smirking and shaking his head at Tony, whose face was a deep shade of pink. Obviously embarrassed about something.

"Tony?" Maura got his attention, giving him a small smile. "What happened?"

The special agent rubbed the back of neck and stumbled over his response. "Well... You see... I might've fired my gun by accident."

It didn't take a genius like Maura to be able to see he wasn't telling the truth.

"Boss, help me out..." Tony grinned sheepishly as he begged Gibbs to think of a way to save him from being embarrassed even further.

"Don't look at me, I'm staying out of it." Gibbs made a face, putting his hands up and backing away a step.

Frankie then came down the hall and patted Tony on the back, chuckling as he did. "It's ok, man. It happens to the best of us..."

"What happens to the best of us?" Jane inquired, knowing Frankie wouldn't try to keep it a secret.

Tony hung his head in shame and embarrassment, while Frankie explained the story he witnessed first hand.

"As soon as we heard this loud crash like noise down the hall, we went to investigate. I went in the office first and Tony had my back. We hear another noise in the dark and Tony shoots in that direction. I finally found the light switch and flicked it on... And what do I see? Jo Friday looking more scared than I've ever seen her. She must have knocked something over I guess."

Jane walked right up to Tony and asked "Did you seriously almost shoot my dog?"

"No!" Tony replied assuringly. "I shot at the wall. Jo was too low on the floor so I wasn't anywhere near her. I'm just lucky it wasn't a person..."

"Hey, what's going on?" McGee sleepily asked, poking his head out of the guest bedroom with a gun in hand.

"It's ok, the dog just knocked something over... That's all." Jane calmly explained, her adrenaline from earlier dissipating as quickly as it arouse.

"So everyone is ok?"

"Tony's pride was the only causality." Jane snickered, then looked over to her girlfriend who was also giggling. "I'm gonna go over to the guest house and tell Ma and Cavanaugh what happened. They probably heard the shots and don't know if we're safe or not."

"Ok. Take your time." Maura smiled.

Just as Jane walked over to the kitchen door, Jo Friday ran by and the Sergeant gasped. "Tony, look! She's more vicious than Cujo. Now I know why you took a shot at her."

Even Tony had to crack a smile at that. He waved her off and shouted "Oh shut up, it could've happened to anyone!"

Jane just shook her head listened to the sound of everyone's laughter and good hearted teasing as she made her way over to the guest house, where her mother and boss were.

* * *

Maura was in the office cleaning up the glass shards, remnants of a vase that Jo Friday had knocked over. She quietly chuckled to herself at the memory of several minutes ago, grateful that it wasn't Ian or one of his men.

Tony took the teasing like a good sport, knowing he would be the first one to make several jokes about the incident.

After the jokes and laughter had died down, the men all went around the house, inside and out, just to be sure that no one else was there. While they were busy doing that, Maura went into her office to inspect the damage of Tony's mistake and Jo's clumsiness.

Just as she scooped up the last of the glass, she turned around to see Jane coming in the room. The lanky brunette leaned against the doorway and said "Perimeter is all clear."

"That's good." Maura responded as she got off of her knees with the bag of broken glass in her hands, walking over to the trash can to dispose of it. "Is your mother ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Jane answered as she pushed off the doorway with her back, bouncing slightly. "Cavanaugh was awake when he heard the shots and woke Ma up. He had her hidden in the bathroom and stood in front of the door the entire time. He didn't want to come over here and leave her alone. That, and he didn't know what he could be walking in on."

"That's true." Maura agreed, almost shivering at the thought of all bad things that could've happened tonight. "I hope they're much more relaxed now. Maybe I should go over?"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Jane shrugged, smiling at Maura caring about how they were doing. "Ma was half asleep by the time I left, so she's probably already out like a light by now."

"Ok. I'll check on them in the morning... Are you coming to bed now?"

"You go ahead. I'll be up in a minute... I just wanna check in with the guys one last time before turning in." Jane walked over to Maura, rubbing her arms as she sweetly kissed her forehead. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, I was only worried about all of you."

"I figured as much, but we'll be ok. I promise. I'll put Jo in our room so she won't make noise or knock anything else over. The tortoises are in the laundry room and don't do anything anyway, so I'm not too worried about them."

"Ok, I'd like to cuddle with Jo in our bed anyway. She must've been so frightened."

"I bet..." Jane chuckled. "I can't tell you how many times Tony apologized to me before I came in here just now."

"Are you mad at him?"

"No, not at all." Jane replied honestly. "I'm just glad no one was hurt."

"Me too." Maura leaned forward, softly but tenderly kissing Jane on her lips. "I love you, very much. I'll go get Jo and bring her upstairs. Come to bed soon."

"On one condition."

"Name it."

"You give me one of those kisses again."

Maura rolled her eyes, laughing at Jane's pouting lips and her big brown puppy dog eyes. "Come here, my big brave Sergeant."

* * *

The small and fluffy terrier barked happily as Maura rubbed her belly, scratching her at just the right spot, her little leg kicking rapidly.

"What were you doing in my office, Jo?" Maura playfully asked, even though she knew the canine couldn't respond. "I thought you would've been sleeping after yesterday's excitement."

Jo picked up her head and stuck her tongue out, panting with a small smile. She squirmed out from under Maura's ticklish fingers and stood at the edge of the bed. Jo stared at the door, barking and yapping insistently at it.

Maura picked up the dog in her arms, holding close. She kisses her fur in an effort to soothe the jumpy pup, and asked "What's wrong girl? Everyone is ok. You don't need to be so worried."

But Jo didn't seem to be listening. She once again squirmed away from Maura's loose grasp and bolted to the door, scratching it as she growled.

Maura furrowed her thin and dark eyebrows in concern, wondering why Jo was acting so strange.

_'Perhaps it was the stress of the day? I wouldn't blame her...'_

In the midst of Maura's thoughts, Jane opened the door and barked loudly at her as she circled her feet.

"What's with her?"

"I have no idea." Maura got out of bed to get one of Jo's rawhide bones, thinking a great may calm her down. "She's been acting funny ever since the incident with Tony."

"She's probably just spooked. Come here, girl..." Jane said as she tried to pick up her dog, but Jo ran past her and down the steps. "What the hell has gotten into her? Don't worry, I'll get her."

Without another word, Jane hurried out of the room and after Jo, who was barking at the back door. Since the yard was fenced in, Jane didn't bother getting her leash.

"Oh, ok. You just had to do your business, huh? Sorry, girl." Jane laughed, and joined Frost and Korsak on the other side of the yard, who were making their rounds.

"I heard her barking up a storm upstairs..." Korsak commented to Jane while keeping watch.

"I guess she really had to go."

Jo sniffed along the fresh cut grass, crossing the yard in a zig zag pattern before finally reaching the stone wall at the back. She jumped up at it, but is too short to reach the top since the it's at least 6 feet higher. Jo turned her head and barked at her master, who was busy talking with her partners.

Once Jane heard the barking resume, she immediately strolled over to her. "Alright, geez! What is it now?"

Jo yet again scratched at the stone wall, making Jane look up at it. On her tip toes, she could barely see over the wall, but not all the way.

"Frost, come here."

He jogged over to her and asked "What's up, partner?"

"Gimme a boost up. I think there's something over there..."

Frost got down on his knees and held out his hands for Jane to step on, she carefully peered over the top of the wall. Jane squinted into the darkness and saw something in the alleyway behind the block of houses.

Jane hopped down and brushed off her hands. "Korsak, go get Gibbs and tell him I found something. Have Tony stay behind to protect Maura, ok?"

"Got it... What did you find?"

"It looks like a piece of paper, taped to the neighbor's fence. There's something attached to it but I can't really tell what it is from here."

The fellow Sergeant nodded, and hurried back into the house. After he disappeared to deliver the information, Jane said "Help me over this wall, I wanna see what that is."

"It could be a trick." Frost warned. "We should wait until Korsak and Gibbs get here."

Jane was impatient, but understood the risks. She waited the 30 seconds until the two older men return.

"Korsak and I will go around on both sides, you two can go over the wall. Sound good?"

The three of them nodded their heads in agreement with Gibbs' plan, and parted ways with one another.

The tall Italian woman pulled out her service weapon, ignoring the chilly breeze of the night, and climbed over the wall. Once she was on her two feet, Frost covering her back, Jane looked around.

She saw no one except for Korsak and Gibbs, who were on each end of the alley.

Frost approached the piece of paper that was so obviously out of place and meant to be seen by them. He took out a glove from his pocket to slip it off and yanked the sheet off the wooden fence, and read the message.

"Shit..."

"What's it say?" Jane asked, wondering what made him look so paranoid and scared.

Frost doesn't say anything, and simply handed Jane the single piece of loose leaf paper so she could see for herself. She briefly glanced at the photo clipped to it, swallowing a hard lump in her throat. It was of her and Maura out with their family at a restaurant a couple months ago, celebrating the purchase of their new home. Red x's were sloppily drawn over each face with permanent marker, while Maura's face was the only one whose x was drawn in black. Whatever the difference in color meant, it obviously wasn't good.

She quickly read the few sentences and shivered, but not from the cold weather. The words had sent chills down her spine.

_'If you think you're safe with all of your cop and agent buddies watching you, think again. I can get to any of you whenever I want. It's only a matter of time before I kill each of you, one by one. - Ian'_

* * *

**Oh crap! I guess it wasn't a false alarm after all? Jo Friday must've seen or sensed danger, that's why she kept barking. She may be tiny, but she's a good watch dog! **

**Find out if Ian will act on his threats next chapter, posted soon! :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Lots of drama and suspense so far, but will we see some action soon? Find out below! Thanks for reading and reviewing. :D**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 6 

"Oh, there you are... I was just about to turn in. Is Jo feeling better?" Maura asked Jane once she saw her enter the room, several minutes after she had left. When she didn't get an answer, the doctor looked at her girlfriend's panic stricken face and watched as she hurried to the closet. "Jane, what's wrong?"

Jane grabbed two large suitcases out of the walk-in closet, tossing them into the middle of the bedroom. Ordinarily, Maura would've scolded her for potentially damaging the hardwood flooring but doesn't question it due to whatever has Jane acting the way she was.

"We can't stay here. It's not as safe as I thought."

Maura got out bed to stand by Jane as she continued throwing their clothes in the direction of the suitcases. In the distance, she heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. It sounded like everyone was wide awake and moving around.

"Honey, what happened?"

The Sergeant simply handed her the threatening note Ian left and went back to retrieving clothes, but stopped once Maura gasped after she read the chilling threat.

"Oh my god... How did..."

"I don't know." Jane reluctantly admitted. "We were all so careful with our patrols, but they must've slipped through when we switched off. Clever bastards had to be watching us for a while... Here." Jane handed Maura a few shirts, and gestured to the floor. "Finish packing these clothes for me. We only need enough for a few days at the most. Don't worry about your dresses or anything fancy, just pack the essentials."

Maura nodded, and Jane started to walk out of the bedroom. When Jane looked back at her, she saw that Maura hadn't moved yet. She was visibly shaking and clutching to a BPD workout tee.

The brunette immediately walked back over in three long strides, and pulled Maura into a comforting hug.

"I promise you that you'll be ok. I'll protect you no matter what."

"I'm so sorry..." Maura sobbed into Jane's chest, her tears falling onto the thick cotton shirt.

"Shh..." Jane whispered as she ran a hand along the back of Maura's head in an effort to calm her cries. "There's nothing to be sorry for, I told you that. Ian is the one in the wrong here. Not you. The guys and I will stop him before anything bad happens."

Maura lifted her head up, wiping tears from her shimmering hazel eyes, and with a hoarse voice, she begged "Please be careful. Whatever you all plan to do to get him, just be careful. Killing or capturing Ian isn't worth the risk of losing you."

Jane was quick to assuage her fears with a chaste kiss on the lips. "You won't lost any of us, I swear... You gonna be ok packing by yourself for a minute? I need to go talk to the boys about a game plan for us."

"I'll be ok." Maura assured as she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Do what you have to, just come back here as soon as you can."

"I will." She said with an encouraging smile, and made sure to kiss Maura once more before leaving.

As soon as Jane entered the living room, she saw that most of the group was rushing around in a frenzy. Frost stood by the back door, Tony at the front, keeping guard while everyone else packed and made their necessary calls.

Angela seemed to be the most panicked of them all, besides Maura, so Jane went right over to her.

"Ma, it's gonna be ok. Why don't you go upstairs with Maura for a few minutes? I've got things covered here."

"Are you sure, sweetie? I don't want to leave any of you."

"We're fine for right now, Ma. Just go be with Maura... I think you both need each other right now."

"Ok." Angela replied, agreeing with her daughter. Maybe helping Maura with packing would distract her a little from the horrifying situation they're in. Even if for a few minutes.

After her mother went upstairs, Jane walked over to Gibbs. The special agent was packing and talking on the phone simultaneously, and he appeared to be very level headed and calm. Just as he ended the call and slipped the phone in his jacket pocket, he told Jane "The rooms are all set up at the hotel."

"Are you sure your phone is safe to use?" Jane asked with skepticism in her voice, worried that Ian may have been listening in on the call.

"I'm positive. It hasn't left my side for a second, and no one has this number. Not even Maura."

"Why is that?"

"I go through cell phones a lot, just ask Dinozzo and McGee." Gibbs answered with a brief chuckle. "I needed to change my number a few weeks ago, since my ex wife kept drunk dialing me."

"Bummer... Alright, so what's the plan? Do we got one?"

McGee, who happened to overhear them as he was helping his wife relax on the couch, responded with "We're going to set up a perimeter at the hotel and make patrols just as we did here. It's more public there, so I'm hoping that it will buy us some time until we get more people we can trust helping us out. I'm not sure who to trust here after what Barry and I discovered... What are we going to do about the Ballards, anyway?"

"I don't know..." Jane bit her lip, mulling over her thoughts about what to do. "We can't tell them everything, or else Trevor could alert Ian. Let's just say we're going to a hotel, but not the one we're actually staying at. If they're watching us still, they'll see us all leave together. Then Trevor will know something is up if we don't tell them anything this major."

"What if they follow us to our hotel then?" The young father to be asked.

"Decoy?" Jane hesitantly suggested. "Maybe we can set something up, I don't know. But we can't sit around here forever thinking of what to do, we gotta move now."

Abby took a break from her deep breathing technique she learned during Lamaze class to ask "How safe will the hotel be?"

"Safer than here, that's for sure. Tim's right, it'll be better there since it's more public. Lots of people around. So I don't think Ian and his men will try anything there. At least not right away... We just need to buy us some time until Korsak contacts his war buddies. If they're up for the job, then they'll be added to the protection detail. Then we'll have some more time to think of a way to end this."

Just then, Jane heard Maura calling out her name from upstairs. "Jane? Is it safe to come down?"

"Yeah, it's ok." Jane answered as she walked to the staircase, and saw her girlfriend and mother coming down with a suitcase in each of their arms.

"We're all done packing. It's mostly sweats and casual clothing. Oh wait-" Maura suddenly stopped in the middle of her sentence, an important thought coming to the forefront of her mind. "What about the pets? Are they allowed to the hotel? I can't leave them behind..."

"I already made sure to ask, they're allowed." Gibbs was quick to assure her, knowing how important her pets are to her.

"Oh, good..." Maura breathed a heavy sigh of relief, then looked around the room. "Are we all ready to go?"

Jane also did a quick sweep and said "Yeah, looks like it. Frost, we good over there?"

"No movement on my end." Her partner replied, not taking his eyes off of the backyard through the sliding glass doors.

"Good... Tony, how's it looking?"

"It's all clear for now. We should get moving."

It was then that Korsak and Cavanaugh joined the rest of them. The Sergeant quickly but clearly informed everyone of the exit plan.

"Alright, this is what we're going to do. Cav and I will go out first to keep watch and start all the cars, so they'll be ready in case we need to get away fast enough. Tony and Gibbs, you'll be covering the front of the group as you move out while Frost and Frankie hang in the back to cover everyone from that end. McGee, you stick with Abby, Jane, Maura, and Angela in the middle. Everyone ready to go?"

Each of them nodded their heads in understanding of what they're supposed to do, and watched as Korsak exchanged a hand signal with Cavanaugh. The Lieutenant unlocked the door and headed out first, his gun aimed forward, checking his surroundings. After he was sure it was safe, Sean whistled softly to let Korsak know that it was ok to follow.

The pair hurried along the driveway as Gibbs and Tony exit the house to cover them while they turned the cars on, leaving the doors open so everyone could get inside faster. The last vehicle to be started was Maura's black Mercedes, and as soon as the engine lights came on, Korsak made a motion with his hand to the others to come out.

"Let's go."

The women are huddled in a small and tight circle, Jane hovering as close as she can to both Maura and Angela, while McGee was practically glued to Abby's side.

Maura was carrying Bass, used to his heavy weight from lifting him up onto the vet's table during his yearly check ups. Abby kindly offered to carry Blastoise, the tortoise Maura gave to Jane shortly after she was promoted to Sergeant. He was still fairly tiny and was able to fit into a tank temporarily, the weight being no problem for the goth woman despite her advanced stage of pregnancy.

Although Jo Friday didn't need to be carried, Angela had her in her arms to make sure the little terrier didn't run off or make any noise.

After making sure they all got into the cars safely, Frankie and Frost quickly jumped in with them. All 4 cars peeled wheels as they sped out of the highway and onto the deserted street, heading north to what they hoped would be a safe haven.

* * *

Luckily for them, the drive to the hotel was uneventful and it appeared that no one had followed them. Each driver, as well as the passengers, made to sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. There was still a chance that they were being watched, so precautions were made. They were on edge for hours, but the new location helped put them at ease somewhat. 2 large adjoining suites were reserved for the 10 of them, there being just enough beds for everyone.

"Jane, come over here..." McGee called out to the Italian, who was in a deep discussion with her brother and partner about shift times. "You need to see this."

"What is it, Tim?" Jane said as she came over and joined her friend on the couch, who was staring at his laptop he had brought with him from the house. Not only did he need it, be he didn't want to leave it. Ian could break into the house, despite a couple uniforms driving by to look for anyone, and steal potentially crucial information.

"I think Trevor is acting alone."

"Why do you say that?"

"I took a look at Jacob and James Ballard's financials, and it doesn't seem like they have the kind of money a big drug dealer would have. I'm not finding any off shore accounts, either... As for Trevor, all of his accounts were completely emptied out yesterday morning. I'm not finding anything that says what was in them before the withdrawal."

"So it's possible Jacob and James aren't involved..."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Well there's two options. One, we don't call Jacob. That could make Trevor suspicious and know we're on to him... Two, we do call Jacob. We tell him about Trevor and what we found."

"How will that help?"

"It might not... But if Trevor is caught, then he could tell us where Ian is and we might be able to end this before someone gets hurt or killed."

"Good idea. So are you going to call the Lieutenant now?"

"I'm gonna have to... If I wait too long without updating anyone, Trevor might know why. Hopefully I can convince Jacob the truth about his son. God... This is such a mess." Jane closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the no doubt difficult call. "Tell Gibbs and the others what you found, I need privacy in the bathroom while I'm on the phone. Oh and make sure you send all the information on Trevor to Jacob's email. He'll probably want proof."

"You got it..." McGee replied, and looked over to where Gibbs was talking with Korsak. "Boss? I need to show you something."

Jane didn't wait around to hear the conversation, and went right into the bathroom. She held her cellphone with sweaty hands, anxious about what she has to say.

"Come on, Rizzoli... Get this over with." She said out loud to herself, holding the phone to her hear and waiting for Jacob Ballard to pick up.

"Jane? It's gotta be 2 in the morning over there... Did something happen?" The Lieutenant worriedly asked the moment he answered the late night call.

"We're fine... Well, as fine as one can be after a serious death threat against them and their whole family."

"Talk to me. I've been waiting by the phone for updates and am really worried about all of you."

Jane heard the concern and sincerity in his voice, and knew he couldn't be involved.

"I found a note left by Ian just outside of my home. I'll have it forwarded to your email, along with something else I found... You're not going to like it."

"Should I be sitting down?"

"I'd say that's wise... Are you alone?"

"Yes, I'm in my office. It's just me. And don't worry, this is a secure line. So it's ok to talk freely."

"Thank you... We, uh... Found incriminating evidence on your son, Trevor. There's records that prove he was visiting Ian Faulkner in prison."

"What?! That can't be true!"

"I'm sorry sir, but it is. I know that's hard to believe but there's undeniable proof... It's being sent to you now."

"I hope you're wrong about this, Jane." Jacob said as he practically flew to desk and started up his laptop.

Within seconds, he opened his email and saw two unread messages. His eyes widened as he scrolled through the Stad Van Hitte prison visiting logs, recognizing the sign in signature belonging to his son. That was indeed his handwriting. A sickening feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach.

"I... I can't believe this. I mean, I do... I just didn't think he would be involved in all this. Seeing Ian, and apparently taking all of his money out of the bank..."

"I didn't believe at first either... I'm so sorry, sir."

"Me too, Jane..." Jacob sighed heavily, leaning back into his chair and rubbing his tired eyes.

"What are you going to do?"

"I have to find him. He hasn't been to work in two days, which is odd since he's never missed a day. But now it's making sense... The timing with Faulkner's escape from custody lines up with it... What about James? He isn't involved somehow, is he?"

"We didn't find anything on him. Is there any reason we should be suspicious of him?"

"None that I'm aware of... He's in Japan right now, with his family. James actually met his wife in Tokyo, since she's from there. They brought their son over to visit the in laws. I've been receiving messages, photos, and calls everyday since they left a month ago. We've even chatted on Skype a few times..."

"We'll monitor his flight and passport activity just in case, but I think he's ok. What are you going to do about Trevor?"

"I'm going to his house, I can only hope he's still there. I'll do what's necessary and take him into custody."

"I'm really sorry about this, but I had to tell you."

"I know. Thank you, Jane. I can imagine how difficult it was for you to bring that to me."

"It was... Good luck, sir."

"Thank you. Stay safe."

* * *

As soon as Jacob ended the hardest call he ever received, he drove to his son's apartment complex in the late morning hour of Stad Van Hitte. He was sweating, but not because of the blistering heat.

The walk up to Trevor's one bedroom home was difficult, but he knew it was necessary. Jacob opened the door with his spare key, and did not expect the gruesome sight that greeted him.

Trevor Ballard lied dead on the floor, from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

"Trevor!" The father cried, running over to the lifeless body and held him in his arms. "Oh god, Trevor... What did you do?!"

"What had to be done." A male voice suddenly announced from the doorway. Jacob snapped his head up and saw his partner David standing before him.

"Did you know about this?!" The sobbing Lieutenant angrily inquired, but was also very confused as to why David was there.

"Yes." Was David's simple and cold reply as he slowly walked over to his longtime friend.

Anger swept over Jacob like a tidal wave, and he instantly jumped to his feet, his shirt covered in his own son's blood.

"And you didn't have the fucking decency to tell me?!" He shouted, his voice booming throughout the small living room.

Before he could get any closer, David pulled out his service weapon and shot Jacob in the leg. He screamed in pain as he lied on the floor beside Trevor, grasping at his leg in an effort to stop the bleeding but to no avail. The bullet had struck the femoral artery, it was only a matter of minutes, or even seconds, before he bled to death.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this."

"Come to... What..." The wounded man hissed out through clenched teeth. "What the hell are you involved in, Dave?"

"It was all supposed to go down so easily..." The dirty cop began with an almost bored and tired tone. "Hoyt and his followers die, I take over the business with Ian as my right hand man. He runs things in Boston for me while I'm taking care of things here... But that man just couldn't let go of his revenge. Fucked things up for us."

"And how the hell does Trevor fit in to all of this?"

"Oh, that's simple... Someone had to take the fall in case things went wrong. Which they did." He smirked evilly as he explained. "Here's what happened... You came to Trevor's apartment to confront him. Big shouting match. Trevor kills you, then shoots himself out of guilt."

"No one will ever buy that."

David chuckled before responding. "Oh really? Your friends in Boston seemed to take the bait on Trevor. It was so easy to falsify prison records. Make it look like it was Trevor visiting Ian and not me. I kept him alive for a little while and forced him to clean out his bank accounts, which definitely makes it look bad on his part."

"Why not frame me? Why my son?" Jacob panted out as blood continued to spurt out of his calf.

"Because that Rizzoli woman would never believe that you could betray her." David stated simply as he check the ammo in his gun, and slid the clip back inside. "Trevor on the other hand, seemed more believable."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You killed my son! He considered you family and you just... How could you do that to someone you once held in your arms? He was just a kid and you murdered him in cold blood... And for what?!"

"Money is a powerful thing... I knew with Rizzoli and Frost on Hoyt's tail that things were bound to collapse over here. So I let them do their little undercover operation. It made the clean up for me a lot easier... I should probably thank them."

"You're a monster!" Jacob spat out loudly.

"Maybe I am... But I'm a monster that's going to get away with it. After you're dead, I'm flying to Boston to team up with Ian. We'll take care of that pesky Isles woman and her family."

"You'll never get anywhere near them."

David laughed again, so smug and confident. "And what are you going to do about it? You'll be dead. There's no way to warn them. I'll be there in as little as four hours with the jet I bought. Could never afford _that_ on a cop's salary... See what I mean about money? It gets you whatever you want."

"Not a soul. You lost that a long time ago and will never get it back."

"Who needs a soul when I have wealth?" David rhetorically asked with a grin, and checked his watch. "Sorry, but I've got a jet to be on. For what it's worth Jake, I've really enjoyed being partners with you over the years. It's a shame... You could've been in on this, but I know you and your boys are too good for it." David pressed his gun against Jacob's sweaty forehead and coldly whispered "Say hello to Trevor for me."

"Fuck you."

Those were the Lieutenant's last words before his betrayer pulled the trigger. The bullet flew threw his skull and out the back, killing him instantly.

* * *

**Oh shit! Poor Jacob and Trevor... Who would've thought David was the one behind all of this? That was one hell of a plan! If you guys remember in chapter 8 of DWB when Maura and Frost met up with David and the Ballards to save Jane, David said he was "busy on a case" and that's why he couldn't meet up with them sooner. Guess that's not what he was really up to, huh? ;) **

**Let me know what you think in the reviews! :D **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Uh oh! Will the gang find out about David's betrayal somehow? Read below to find out! :)**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 7

"How's it looking down there, Korsak?" Jane inquired of her partner, who was busy doing on his shift of patrolling the area.

"I'm not seeing anything suspicious. I'm gonna walk through the lobby and bar again before switching off the rounds to Frankie."

"Alright, I'll let him know to get ready. Stay safe, Vince."

Before hanging up, Korsak replied "You too."

Jane walked past Frost, who was working away on his laptop. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was extremely exhausted.

"You should really be sleeping, we've got everything covered here..." She said to him, but he simply shrugged it off with a smile.

"Not just yet... I'm checking the security feeds throughout he hotel, making sure we're really safe here. I'll have McGee take over once he wakes up."

The brunette nodded, and went back into the bedroom. There she found Maura, Frankie, Abby, and Tim, all sleeping soundly.

She tip toed over to her brother, gently nudging him on the shoulder. Jane whispered as quietly as possible, so she didn't wake the others. "Frankie..."

"Hmm..." He mumbled incoherently into the pillow, stirring from his dreamless sleep. "What?"

Jane laughed when she saw drool coming out of his mouth and said "Sorry to wake you up, Sleeping Beauty... But it's time for your shift. Korsak is almost done with his patrols and needs to trade off with you soon."

Frankie groaned softly as he stretched his body, twisting and cracking the long limbs. In an effort to help him wake up some more, the detective rubbed his eyes. "Ok, just let me use the bathroom to splash some water on my face... What time is it?"

"9 am... You've been out for close to 5 hours."

"I've had less sleep before working cases, I should be ok for a while." Frankie responded, and tossed the blanket off of him. He swung his legs out from the bed and placed them on the floor, stretching once again as he yawned. Frankie looked at his sister and saw how tired she was. "You didn't sleep yet, did you?"

"No." She answered, shaking her head. "I know we're safe with everyone taking turns to watch us, but I can't rest knowing some bastard is out there trying to kill Maura."

Her younger sibling of course understood this, but insisted "You should still grab a couple of hours, it isn't good for you to stay up so long. If you really want to be ready for anything that could happen, you'll need to be sharp and well rested."

"Maybe a few hours would be ok..." Jane agreed, knowing he had a good point and didn't want to argue. "But you wake me if you or the others find anything, ok?"

"Of course."

Suddenly, Frankie pulled Jane into a hug, surprising her. With everything that had happened in the past 16 hours, Jane was comforting others. She always did things like that, putting someone else's needs before her own. He hated how she bared the weight of the world on her shoulders sometimes, and wanted to comfort her for a change.

"You know everything is going to be ok... Right?"

She gratefully accepted the hug, feeling instant relief and reveled in the small comfort her brother gave her.

"I know... Thanks, Frankie."

Frankie tousled her hair, just like when they were kids, and grinned at the playful glare he received.

"Get some shut eye." He ordered with a smirk. "I'll be back in a few hours to check on you, and update you on whatever we find."

"Be careful, ok?"

"I'm always careful."

Jane rolled her eyes as they both chuckled. "Yeah, that makes me feel _so_ much better."

As he walked out of the bedroom, Jane went over to the bed Maura was sleeping in and gently got under the covers with her.

The sleeping woman released the pillow she was holding and instinctively moved closer to Jane, wrapping her arms around her as she snuggled into Jane's neck.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, Maur... You can go back to sleep."

She kissed Maura's forehead, and both were asleep within seconds.

* * *

David Mills was flying on his private jet, bought with money from the drug ring he had taken over not long ago. The dirty cop was on his way to Boston and made a call, sipping on some expensive champagne as he waited for the ringing to stop.

"Yeah?"

"Faulkner, it's David. I'm 30 minutes from Logan International... Just calling to double check and see if our warehouse is still good to meet up at."

"Yes sir, it is. My men are there now, ready to distribute the stuff as soon as I give them the word."

"Good. So where are we on this whole Maura revenge thing of yours?"

"I'll be ready to move on her soon. I'm just having a little fun toying with them first..." Ian grinned evilly, even though his boss couldn't see.

David was not amused, and didn't like that Ian was playing games while they had to be doing more important things. "Don't you think that's stupid of you to wait around like this? Right after I had you removed from custody? We can't afford any mistakes, Faulkner."

"I know that, sir. I promise I'm being careful and keeping a safe distance, for now. I have a few cops on the payroll and they'll let me know what they're up to. So far, things are dark. But they'll have to reach out to someone eventually..."

"For your sake, I hope they do." David warned, not having a problem with killing Ian if he really had to. "It's only a matter of time before they figure out Jacob is dead. They'll want to talk to me since I was his partner."

"How did that go?"

"It went exactly as planned... He went over to confront Trevor, as I suspected he would. I told him everything before I put a bullet in his brain."

"Finally..." Ian almost groaned in relief, but refrained. "That man has been a pest since day one. That Rizzoli woman is just like him... She'll never let his death go."

"I guess you better take care of that, then..."

* * *

_A few hours later... _

Maura jumped up in bed, sweating and panting from her vivid nightmare of the night Jane was rescued. Only this time, she wasn't able to save Jane. She looked to the side of her and found relief in seeing that Jane was alive and well. Maura didn't want to wake her girlfriend, knowing she probably hasn't been sleeping very long. So she carefully slipped out of bed and quietly walked out of the bedroom.

When she entered the living room, Maura smiled when she saw Korsak and Gibbs fast asleep on the couch. They were both sitting up, and she knew that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Maura also knew that she wouldn't be able to convince them to move to a bed, so she adjusted the blankets that barely covered them, making them more warm.

Gibbs' loud snore startled her, and she jumped back, covering her mouth to conceal her gasp. Maura looked up when she unexpectedly heard another noise, Abby laughing quietly in the doorway.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it..." She apologized with a grin, and Maura waved it off, not mad at all. It was actually quite funny to her. "Gibbs will never admit that he snores. This is one the very rare times he's been caught."

"That sounds just like Jane... She would never freely admit to snoring, either."

Maura titled her head towards the kitchen, so they won't disturb the sleeping men while they talk. She has Abby sit down first, helping her into the chair.

"Can I get you anything? I think they have some tea in the cabinet." Maura kindly offered.

"If it isn't too much trouble... That would be great, thanks."

"It's fine." Maura assured with a smile. "So you can't sleep either?"

"My son won't let me." The goth woman replied. "He's been kicking nonstop for about an hour. It doesn't hurt, but boy does it get annoying when you're trying to sleep or rest."

"Hopefully this tea will help him relax some..." Maura said as she turned the stove on. While the water was heating up, she joined Abby at the table. "How does it feel knowing you'll be a mother soon?"

"Terrifying..." She answered honestly, but added "But amazing. I never really thought it would happen. Tim and I were both too nervous and afraid to ask each other out, but one day Kate helped him build up the courage. I have her to thank for all that's happened since then. If it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't be married and pregnant right now."

Maura smiled sadly at the mention of her sister again, but is grateful to know she had a part in helping her closest friends getting together. She got up when the kettle started whistling, and poured the hot water into two mugs. The Medical Examiner dropped a teabag in each one, then brought them over to the table.

Abby thanked her for the tea, and after a brief moment; she asked "Does it still hurt to talk or think about her?"

Maura sighed before replying, and absentmindedly stirred the sugar around in her mug. "It hurt a lot at first, but it isn't so bad now. Once in a while I'll cry about it, usually around holidays, birthdays, or family gatherings... Jane and her family have been so supportive with it all, I feel lucky to have them. Not that you and the others haven't, it's just that it's different with you living so far away."

"No, that's ok. I get what you mean..." Abby assured, not taking any offense to what Maura had said. They lived in two different states that were very far apart, so of course they couldn't really be around each other much. Especially with their jobs keeping them busy. "I was worried about you being so far from us after it happened, but Jane told me you'd be ok. I only knew her for two weeks before you left, but I got a really good feeling about her. She reminds me so much of Gibbs, I guess that's why."

"Yes, they are a lot alike." Maura laughed in agreement, thinking of all the similarities between the two. "That's probably why they butt heads in the beginning. I think they greatly respect and admire one another now."

Suddenly, the side door that led to their adjoining room opened. Angela walked in wearing a fluffy pink robe, and went over to the two women in the kitchen.

"Morning, girls. Mind if I join you?"

"No, sit down." They both insisted at the same time, and Maura added "Would you like some tea? The water is still hot, I can pour you a cup."

"No, sweetie. I can get it, thank you." Angela placed a hand on Maura's shoulder to stop her from getting up, wanting to her to sit down and relax. She looked around the room and didn't see her children, so she asked "Where's Jane and Frankie?"

"Jane's sleeping in the bedroom, and Frankie is out patrolling the building. Don't worry, he'll be safe out there. Tony is with him." Abby assured, knowing where everyone was since she had been awake during a shift change.

Frankie and Tony were out patrolling, while Cavanaugh was guarding the rooms and just outside in the hall. If anything were to go wrong, one of them would call the Lieutenant on his cellphone to wake the others and move them if necessary. Or at least ready themselves for an attack.

Angela was still obviously worried, so she busied herself with making tea in an effort to distract herself. A short moment later, she joined Maura and Abby at the table.

"So how are you two doing with all of this?"

Abby was busy drinking her tea, so Maura replied first. "As best I can... I even had a nightmare about it, that's why I woke up. It felt very real."

"Aww, honey..." Angela frowned, placing a hand over Maura's. "Maybe you should take a hot bath? It could help you relax."

"I might just take a quick shower, I don't want to be away from anyone for too long."

The Rizzoli matriarch nodded in understanding, then looked over at Abby. "And how about you? Did you sleep ok?"

"I was fine until the future soccer start in my belly decided to wake me up."

"Got a restless baby, huh?" Angela chuckled. "All three of my kids were the same way. I could never get a solid night's sleep while pregnant... I tried everything I could. Although now that I think of it, there was one thing that did help some. I used to read to them. Any book, really. Even newspapers... I guess the sound of my voice was soothing to them."

"I've read studies that showed that actually works in a lot of pregnancies..." Maura commented. "I have my iPad in my purse if you'd like to read something."

"I'll try anything... I don't want Tim worrying about me when he gets up, so I hope this works."

Maura took one last sip of her tea before getting up, and went to retrieve her iPad in the bedroom. Once she got there, she saw that Jane had sprawled all across the mattress, her left leg sticking out of the covers and off the edge of the bed.

The honey blonde gently took Jane's foot and put it back on the bed, while simultaneously trying to conceal her giggling.

When she came back into the kitchen, she was immediately shocked to see Angela on her knees picking up pieces of glass from the floor.

"What happened?" Maura asked as she rushed over to them.

The forensic scientist looked up at her with wide and apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I just had this weird pain and dropped the mug on the floor... I think- _oh_!" Abby hunched over in her chair, and grimaced in pain as she tried to ride it out.

Both women were at Abby's side in an instant, the broken mug forgotten. Worry was evident on their faces and Abby cried out in pain, who was cradling her stomach with one hand and clutching the table for dear life with the other.

"Angela, wake up Tim and the others. Tell them we need to go to the hospital."

"Why?! What's happening?"

As Maura checked Abby's pulse, feeling it race at an alarming speed, she explained "I believe Abby is going into premature labor."

* * *

**Oh no... This isn't good! Will Abby and her baby be ok? Make your predictions in the reviews! :D **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Oh boy. Between David's shocking betrayal, Ian on the hunt for Maura, and now Abby going into labor... Things are really intense for everyone right now! Hopefully things start going our way soon. ;)**

**Side note, I've recently completed writing the final chapter to one of my other stories "Time Between Us" So if you're interested, go check it out! I'm posting the last chapter within a few days, so there's plenty of time to catch up. :)**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 8

"Why is this happening?!" Tim worriedly asked Maura as his wife was screaming in pain from her labor. "She isn't due for another 3 and a half weeks!"

"I believe it's from the heightened stress over the past 18 hours..." Maura explained, her hand on Abby's wrist to check her pulse that was skyrocketing by the minute. "The baby should be fully developed by now, but there are still risks of delivering this early. I've delivered a few babies back in Africa with little medical supplies, but we should really get Abby to the hospital in case something goes wrong."

The pregnant woman's contraction passed, her screaming now reduced to heavy pants. Having caught the tail end of Maura's words, Abby became fearful. "Something's wrong?! What's going on? Is my baby ok?"

Maura instantly assured her close friend, wiping a strand of hair out Abby's sweating face that had clung to her. "Sweetie, it's going to be fine. We just need to get you to the hospital so we're ready for anything, ok?"

Abby's eyes were still widened in panic, but she nodded in understanding. Another contraction washed over her, and the forensic scientist gritted her teeth as she tried to ride out the intense pain.

As she squeezed Tim's hand for dear life, he asked Gibbs "Do you think it's safe to go?"

"What choice do we have?" The special agent shrugged, hiding his immense worry for Abby well. "The contractions aren't far apart now and she definitely can't have the baby here. Let me call Frost and Tony to tell them we have to move. They can scope the area for us and let us know it's safe to move to the cars."

"Should we all go to the hospital, or some of us stay here?" Maura inquired.

"Neither is really a safe option, but it's better for us to all go than split up." Gibbs explained, and Maura agreed that it made sense. "We'll have more protection for everyone if we're all in the same room."

Jane, who had been woken from her deep slumber from Abby's cries, was standing across the room talking on her cellphone. She also agreed with the plan despite the dangers of moving yet again, having heard the conversation when she ended the call. The Sergeant walked over to the small group to inform them "Korsak just called and said he was in contact with his war buddies. I'll have him call them back to redirect them to the hospital."

"Are you _absolutely_ sure they can be trusted?" Gibbs questioned. "I don't mean to offend you with my lack of faith, but you trusted Trevor Ballard and he's been part of this whole thing all along."

Jane sighed deeply as her frustration grew, running a hand through her thick hair. "I know... But Korsak knows these guys better than I knew the Ballards. If he trusts them implicitly, then so do I."

"Well I hope that's good enough... Just in case they aren't on our side, we should have them on the opposite side of the hospital for patrols."

"That's fair." Jane nodded, then said "Ok, so how are we doing this? Moving around again so soon worries me."

"What about splitting the group in half?" Maura suggested, all eyes suddenly on her as she spoke. "We exit on opposite sides of the hotel and meet up in the parking garage."

"I don't know... Should any of us really be apart?"

"Maybe that's a good plan, though?" Frost asked, also wide awake from the stressful situation. He had only gotten a few seconds of sleep when Abby's labor had begun, the tired detective instantly on alert at the sound of her cries. "If anyone is watching us, then maybe us splitting up would confuse them?"

"Or thinking its a good time to attack." Jane pointed out, not wanting to argue but trying to solidly their exit strategy to ensure no cracks or openings were there.

"Do you have any plans? We're gonna have to split up anyway... The elevator won't fit all of us on it, so we might as well do it Maura's way."

"I guess that's our only option, then..." Jane shrugged. "Unless we take the stairs."

"No... No w-way..." Abby interrupted, clearly out of breath. "I'm sorry, but I just can't do that. I can barely think, let alone walk."

"Elevator it is, then." Jane laughed, and began to move around the room with the others to gather a few of their things.

* * *

Once Frankie and Tony checked the areas in the hotel as well as the parking garage adjacent to it, the two called the anxious group in the hotel to let them know it was safe to exit the room.

As planned, the group divided up so they'd all fit into the elevators. Although they were separated, each of them went to the first floor at the same time, not wanting anyone to be left behind and potentially vulnerable.

Despite how large and heavy Abby was, Tim carried his pregnant wife the whole way, constantly assuring her that things would be ok. His arms were very tired, but he just managed to hold her until they all safely got to the vehicles where Frankie and Tony were patiently waiting.

The BPD and NCIS teams once again climbed into their cars, carefully watching their surroundings as they did, and drove out of the garage into the sunny Boston morning.

Traffic was much heavier than it was when they left the house, which both calmed and worried the groups. It provided cover for them, but it also made it difficult to tell if their enemies were trying to blend in. So all eyes were watching to see if someone had been following the entire way, but luckily no one was as far they knew.

When they finally got to the hospital, Abby's contractions were getting very close together. They knew it was only a matter of minutes before the baby was going to arrive.

As soon as their cars stopped in front of the emergency room's entrance, Tim hopped out of the car and once again scooped Abby into his arms.

"We're here, Abs. You and the baby are gonna be fine, you hear me?" Tim said assuringly, kissing her forehead.

"Oh god... This really hurts! Whose idea was it to have a baby?!" She jokingly cried, her hands running over her stomach in an effort to try and calm the baby down some but it unfortunately didn't do anything.

"It was a mutual decision, but we'll talk about that later..." Tim panted out, nearly overexerting himself with the weight but didn't complain.

With everyone protectively surrounding them, Tim walked into the emergency room and set his wife down in an empty wheelchair that was luckily right by the door.

"Is everything ok?" A female nurse asked, rushing over when she saw the large family burst into the room. She looked down and saw the goth woman grimacing in pain, holding her large belly. "I'll page your doctor for you... How far apart are the contractions?"

"They're only 30 seconds apart now." Maura informed the young woman, since Tim was busy comforting Abby as best he could. "She's not from around here, so her doctor isn't available. She's gone into early labor due to high levels of stress, so we need any doctor we can get as soon as possible."

"Right." The nurse agreed, and ran back to her desk to pick up the phone. A few seconds went by until she started talking to someone on the other end. "I have a woman in the ER that has gone into premature labor, is Doctor Edmonds still on call? He is? Good. I'll bring the woman into room 105, have it prepped by the time I get there." The nurse ran back over to them and started to take control of the wheelchair, but Tim refused to let go. "Are you the father?"

"Yes, ma'am. I need to be in there with her."

"Of course, follow me." She started to walk towards a door, and saw that Tony and Gibbs were right behind them. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow so many people to be in the delivery room at once."

Gibbs pulled his jacket aside to flash his badge that snugly rested on his belt, beside his holstered service weapon. "NCIS Special Agent Gibbs. I'm afraid we have to go back with you. There's a situation and I need to be there in case something happens."

The nurse's eyes widen slightly, scared of this mentioned situation. "Should I call security and police?"

"We'll take care of the police, but you may call security if you'd like." The agent replied, and the nurse said yes. "Good. Is there a private waiting room my family can stay in?"

"Right through that door over there." She pointed with her finger, right behind him. She was about to say something else when Abby interrupted them.

"Hello? Pregnant woman still in incredibly painful labor down here."

"Sorry, miss." The nurse apologized with a slight chuckle and resumed the short walk to room 105, where doctors had already begun to prepare for their arrival.

When they disappeared behind the door, the rest of the family had gone into the waiting room pointed out to them.

"Are you alright, Jane?" Maura tentatively asked her girlfriend, noticing how deep in thought she was.

"What?" Jane said as she snapped out of her daze. "Oh, yeah... I'm just worried. Jacob hasn't called me back yet."

"Why do you think that is?" The honey blonde wondered, hoping Jane would have a reasonable explanation.

"I don't know... There's only two reasons for it. Either he's a part of this too, or something happened to him. I don't know which is worse."

"I'm sorry about Trevor. I know you trusted him."

"This doesn't sit right with me, Maur..." Jane sat down in an uncomfortable chair, leaning down to rest her face in her hands. "The Ballards seemed like really good people. Why would they help save my life, just to throw a target on our backs later on?"

"It doesn't make sense to me, either." Maura admitted with a frown, and rubbed Jane's back soothingly. "Hopefully we'll find an answer to everything soon. We can't keep running and hiding forever. It'll have to come to end at one point."

"That's what scares me." She said, lifting her head up again. "I have no idea when, where, or how things are going to go down. Who the hell can I trust anymore?"

"Well, me... And everyone in our family. Vince seems to trust his friends from the service, too. So you have plenty of people to trust."

"I know I can trust you guys, but how can we solve this on our own? They could have moles planted in any department for all we know, even ours. If we talk to any of them by mistake, then shit's really gonna hit the fan."

"We just have to stick together. If we do that, then _no one_ can hurt us. We're strongest that way."

Jane smiled at the confidence in Maura's voice, and brought her into a much needed hug.

"Thanks, Maura. Even with everything that's been happening, you've still managed to stay so calm. How do you do that?"

"Because I love you and our family."

Jane was about to kiss Maura when Korsak and Cavanaugh came over to them. The Lieutenant said "Frost and Frankie are getting the pets out of the car for you two, they're bringing them in now. Just thought you'd like to know."

"Thank you, Sean. I appreciate that." Maura smiled.

"No problem. One less thing to worry about... Anyway, Korsak's friends just got here so we figured you'd wanna meet them while we have a debrief."

"Of course."

* * *

A few minutes later, 2 men entered the crowded waiting room accompanied by Korsak. They had briefly caught up with one another on the way in the hospital, making small talk and jokes before getting down to business.

"Jane, this is Michael Escobar and Raymond Jones. We served in the Marines together a while back." The fellow Sergeant introduced, and she shook hands with each man.

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot that you're willing to help us."

"Don't mention it. A friend of Vinny's is a friend of ours. And we help our friends no matter what." Michael assured with a polite smile.

"We really appreciate it." Jane said. "So have you been told what's going on?"

"Yes we have." Raymond replied. "It goes back to your undercover work in Africa I heard. A man by the name of Ian Faulkner wants revenge for the death of his brother."

"Yes. While I was in Africa, I was kidnapped... Maura and my partner Frost, along with a few other cops, rescued me. Maura unfortunately had to shoot a man in order to save her life as well as Frost's, but at the time we had no idea who he was or related to."

"I see... And these other cops you mentioned, are they the Ballard family we've been told about?"

"They are. Last night we learned that Trevor Ballard, the Lieutenant's son, is somehow involved in all of this. We don't know his part, just that he helped orchestrate Faulkner's escape. I made the call to tell the Lieutenant about it. I thought that maybe Trevor was acting alone, which is how it looked, but I haven't heard from him in many hours now."

"Is it possible that the Lieutenant is involved as well?" Michael asked.

"I honestly don't know." Jane sighed heavily. "I was telling Maura that either he's part of this, or something happened to him. My gut's telling me it's the latter. I know Jacob wouldn't do this to us."

"Based on what I've been told so far, and even though I know little about this man, I have to agree. It doesn't add up... Why would he save you in Africa, but want you and Maura dead now?"

"That's exactly what I said."

"Until we figure things out, we're going to need to be on guard for a while... This Abby woman, is she safe? Vince told me she went into labor and that's why we're at the hospital."

"She has a few NCIS agents in the room with her, but I'm a little worried it's not enough."

"I assume you want to stay here with your family, so I could stand guard by the delivery room and walk the halls around it if you want."

Jane had to refrain from biting her lip, mulling over the idea of letting him be near them. She had another gut feeling that these men were ok, especially since Korsak trusts them. The brunette made the difficult decision on the spot, not wanting to delay the needed protection detail any more than necessary.

"That would be great, thanks. I'll call Gibbs and let him know you're on your way."

"Is that Maura over there?" Michael wondered, gesturing his head towards the blonde woman that was talking with Angela as they played with Jo Friday.

"Yeah, that's her. I'm sure she'd like to meet you... Just a quick introduction, though. I don't want us getting too distracted."

"Understood." Both men said at the same time, and went over to meet Maura.

* * *

Although Raymond was stationed just outside of the delivery room, Gibbs kept his hand resting on his gun just in case things went wrong. The two Marines briefly talked with one another, and like Jane, Gibbs had a feeling he was a good man. They couldn't talk long, though. As soon as Gibbs heard Abby's screams getting louder, he rushed back inside.

"Gibbs..." She cried as he came back over to her. "Make it stop. I can't handle pain like you can."

"Hey, look at me." He whispered, his rough and low voice having a soothing effect on her. "You can do this. I _know_ you can. You're one of the toughest women I've ever met."

"I can't- ah!" She yelled in pain as yet another sharp sensation shot through her. "I'm scared."

"I know you are. Just breathe, ok? Focus on that."

"You're doing great, Abby..." Doctor Edmonds calmly assured, knowing how stressed she was and didn't want to upset her more than she was. He was very used to handling women's emotions during labor, having delivered hundreds of babies over the course of his decades long career. "Just breathe deeply and give me one big push."

"Crap, crap, crap! Ahhh!" Abby screamed again as she pushed with all her might, and dropped her head onto the pillow, exhausted.

While Gibbs held her hand, Tim had the other, also reassuring her. He strained his neck to look between Abby's spread legs, and gasped. "Oh god, Abby... I can see his head!"

The doctor allowed Abby a moment to rest, seeing how tired she was, but when he asked her to push again, the break seemed too short for her.

"Just a couple more pushes and you'll have your baby. Come on, you can do it." Edmonds encouraged with a cheerful voice, but all it did was aggravate Abby.

"I can't... It hurts too much..."

"I know it does, honey." Tim tore his eyes away from the baby to assure his wife again, wanting her to keep going. "Just do two more pushes. That's it. I promise you that the pain will be worth it. Just think of our son."

It was the thought of holding her newborn son that gave Abby all the motivation she needed to push again. She adjusted her grips on each man's hand and shut her eyes, once again pushing with every bit of strength she had been able to muster up.

"That was a great push, Abby! I can see the little guy's shoulders now." Edmonds happily exclaimed, and Tim took a quick look.

"I can see his face! He's got your black hair!" McGee wept, overjoyed at the sight of his son being born.

"Alright... One more push and it'll all be over. Can you do that, Abby?" Her doctor asked, his hands outstretched to catch the baby that was almost completely out.

"I think so." Abby replied with obvious tiredness in her voice. For what she hoped would be the last time, she forced herself to push, squeezing the men's hands so tightly she would've feared she'd break them had her mind not been so occupied.

"There we go!" Edmonds cheered just as the baby finally slipped out and into his waiting hands. He looked down at the wailing newborn and moved the umbilical cord aside, and grinned. "It's a girl!"

All heads in the room turned to the doctor, utterly shocked that it wasn't a boy like they thought.

"Ok Dad, would you like the honor?" Edmonds asked, a nurse standing right beside him and ready to hand the new father a pair of scissors to cut the cord.

Tim blinked rapidly, shaking his head to rid himself of the shock and gratefully accepted the sharp tool. He let go of Abby's hand and placed the two blades over the cord, and clenched them together, severing the spongy tie between mother and daughter.

He smiled from ear to ear at his wife, who was crying as she looked at their baby girl. Tim went to do the same, but his eye just caught sight of the blood and afterbirth. He swallowed a hard lump in his throat as his entire face paled.

"I think I need to sit down." He announced, and promptly fell to the floor as he passed out.

"Tim?!" Abby shouted, and Gibbs instantly rushed over to his side to check on him.

Both Gibbs and Tony started laughing over the fact that McGee actually passed out from the sight of a little blood, of course this was after making sure he was ok.

"He's coming around..." Tony assured a moment later, and helped his partner up into a sitting position. "You alright, probie?"

"Yeah. I... I just uh... need to use the bathroom." He mumbled, covering his mouth as he rushed to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach into the toilet while Tony had a difficult time stopping his laughter.

While Tim was busy getting sick, Doctor Edmonds and his nurse cleaned up the baby, bundling her up in a tiny pink blanket. The young woman handed the tearful mother her baby with a beaming smile, happy for the stranger. This was definitely her favorite part of the job.

"She's doing just fine." Edmonds told her. "She measured in at 7 pounds and 8 ounces. I checked her lungs, and her breathing appears to be normal. But we could all tell that with the loud crying..." He chuckled. "We'll let you hold onto her for a few minutes before we run some tests, but I think it's safe to say that she's perfectly healthy."

"Hi, sweetheart..." Abby cried again, but this time it wasn't from pain. She was over the moon in love. It moved her to tears, so happy with the bundle of joy she held. "Oh, you're so beautiful. Look at those little cheeks of yours!"

"I guess you have to think of a girl's name now..." Gibbs said as he watched the new mother, very proud of her. "Did you happen to think of any before you thought it was a boy?"

"Tim and I thought about a few girl names... We already have the perfect one for her." Abby replied, unable to take her eyes away from the baby in her arms.

"What is it?"

"Kate."

* * *

**Aww! How sweet of Abby to honor Kate's memory like that... I figured I would end a chapter on a happy note for once, but you guys know it won't be like that for long! ;) **

**Let me know your thoughts and predictions in the reviews! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this next chapter. :)**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 9

"I hope Abby and the baby are alright..." Maura commented, absentmindedly scratching Jo Friday's fur as she slept peacefully in her lap. She was almost jealous of the pup, not having a care in the world and oblivious to scary situation they've been put in. "It's been nearly an hour since they've gone back and we haven't heard a thing."

Jane held Maura's free hand in her own, giving it a gentle and reassuring squeeze. "I'm sure they're both fine. If something were wrong, Gibbs or Tony would've called one of us."

"I suppose you're right." Maura sighed softly in agreement. "It's just so nerve wracking waiting here like this."

"Well how long does labor usually last?"

"Anywhere from mere minutes to 36 hours, give or take a few hours. That's just from my experience in the field, but this is different. Abby wasn't due yet, so there could be complications."

The Sergeant's dark eyebrows raised slightly, surprised at how long labor could last. She felt sorry for those poor women, it must be very painful and exhausting to endure childbirth that long.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Maur. Abby is tough, so her baby will be, too. You said yourself that the baby is fully developed, so there's a big chance things will be ok for the both of them."

"I sure hope so." Maura said, just as she heard her phone rang in her pocket. The buzzing vibration woke the napping pooch in her lap, yawning adorably as she took in her surroundings. She watched as the Medical Examiner slid her hand into her pocket to fetch her phone, quickly answering the call. "Hello, this is Doctor Isles."

"Maura, it's Gibbs."

"Is everything alright?" She asked, Jane tensing beside her, also anxious for the response.

"Everything is fine, don't worry." Gibbs assured. "Abby delivered the baby with no problem. They're both doing great." The Special Agent left out the part of the baby being a girl, not a boy like everyone thought, wanting it to be a surprise.

"That's wonderful!" Maura replied, tearing up over the happy news.

"Have Jane and someone else escort you down to her room, so you can see the baby. The doctors told us it's ok for visitors now."

"I will, thank you. See you soon." Maura hung up, sliding the phone back into her pocket with a beaming smile.

"What's going on?" Jane asked, wondering why Maura was crying. "Are they ok?"

"Yes, yes they're fine..." The honey blonde sniffled, gratefully accepting a tissue that Jane handed her. "Abby's a mother."

"That's fantastic! Can we go see them?"

"Gibbs said to come back, as long as I have an escort. Would you and Frankie like to go with me?"

"Absolutely. But I think I should take Frost with us instead... Ma is still a little worried, so I don't think taking both of her kids out of the room would be a good idea. Frankie should stay here to keep her calm."

"That sounds like a good idea." Maura looked over at Angela, who had dozed off in her chair. She knew that with how she was slouching that she'd wake with a very uncomfortable crick in her neck, so Maura went over to Frankie and told him "We're going to visit Abby and the others in her room. I'll bring some pillows and blankets back for your mother, and for you if you'd like."

"That'd be great. Thanks, Maura." Frankie replied with a tired smile, but the young detective wasn't planning on sleeping anytime soon. Not only was he on watch, but the morning had been so stressful he wouldn't get a wink even if he tried. "How's Abby doing?"

"I'm sure she's very tired, but both her and the baby are alright. The delivery went very well from what I heard."

"That's great news. Tell her and Tim I said congratulations!"

"I will. I'm sure Abby will be too tired for any more visitors after us, but she'll want to see the rest of you after some sleep."

"Not a problem. I bet Ma will be antsy when she gets up, but I'll keep her busy for you guys until we go back."

"You ready to go?" Jane asked, walking over to the two of them with Frost looking out the door. He gave his partner a thumbs up, signaling that it was all clear to move. The only people roaming the halls were nurses and doctors, with the exception of the occasional security guard strolling by.

"Yes, let's go." Maura replied, obviously very excited to finally see her nephew. Despite not actually being related to Abby, the two were so close they felt like sisters. Maura was honored that Abby referred to her as the Aunt of her baby, the touching moment making both emotional women tear up.

* * *

"Hey, Abs..." Maura greeted cheerfully as she entered the room with Jane and Frost. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired but amazing." The new mother responded, holding onto her baby girl. She gestured for the trio to come over her, so they'd get a look. "I'd like for you all to meet my daughter, Kate."

Jane and Frost are temporarily taken aback by the news, also expecting a boy, while Maura softly gasps.

"Oh, Abby..."

"I'm sorry, Maura." Abby worriedly apologized, seeing the woman begin to cry. "I should've asked if it was ok to name her that."

"Of course it's ok." The weeping blonde assured. "I'm sure Kate would be touched you named your baby after her. Thank you."

"Like I said before, if it wasn't for Kate, I may never have gotten pregnant. It felt right to honor her memory this way."

Once again, Maura wiped away her tears of joy, Jane grinning at her as she did. The three of them gathered around the bed, looking down at the newborn in Abby's arms. The bundled up baby was the spitting image of her mom. Their noses were identical, as well as their rosy red cheeks everyone found adorable.

"She's so beautiful..." Maura said in awe. "And that head of hair! It's as black as yours."

"Yeah, she certainly takes after me already... But those eyes definitely look like Tim's."

"Speaking of Tim..." Frost trailed off, looking around the room but only saw Gibbs and Tony sitting in the corner. "Where is he?"

Abby attempted to quiet her chuckling as Kate yawned, not wanting to keep her awake if she was tired. "Tim got one look down there and saw a little too much blood. He's in the bathroom. My guess is, he's losing what's left of his breakfast."

"Poor McGee!" Jane laughed, turning her head at the sound of Tony snickering in his chair.

"At least he didn't miss the birth." Maura added, rolling her eyes at the sound of her girlfriend's laughter. She couldn't blame her, though. The idea of McGee getting sick at the sight of blood was too funny.

"Nope." Abby grinned. "Tony made sure he stayed the whole time. Well, up until he passed out, but that was after he cut the cord. He managed to hold her for a few minutes, but he went back in there again."

The entire room bursted out into laughter all over again, but also felt a little sorry for the man. Still, it was pretty hilarious to hear.

Tony, who was playing cards with Gibbs across the room, smirked as he explained "Probie could never handle stuff like that. I was worried for a sec, but he got right up to puke his guts out."

"You'll never let him live this down, will you?"

"Maura, I think you know me well enough to know the answer is hell no." DiNozzo replied, still cracking up. "Ducky's been trying to get him over being so squeamish, but I guess he's gonna have to work a little harder."

"Oh, did anyone call him?" Maura wondered aloud, not asking anyone in particular. Ducky was very busy on an important case and unfortunately couldn't come to Boston with the others, but promised Maura that he'd fly out as soon as it was over.

"I called him right after the doctors left." Gibbs answered. "He said that he'll still fly out here, but I told him to wait. We don't need another person's safety to worry about."

Maura nodded in agreement. She'd hate for anything to happen to him, so it was best he stayed away until it was safe.

"You wanna hold her?" Abby asked Maura, who instantly said yes, and carefully slipped the baby into her waiting arms.

"Oh my god... Hi, Kate." Maura whispered, enamored by the tiny new life. Kate looked up at the sound of her voice, and reached up to grasp onto one of Maura's fingers. Her little hand having a surprisingly strong grip. "I can't get over how cute she is."

Behind her, Frost nudged Jane with his elbow. She looked at his mischievous grin, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. "What?"

"You know she's gonna want one now."

"Oh shut up." Jane playfully shoved her partner. "Don't get her started."

The truth was, Jane would love to have kids with Maura someday. But that would be a long while away, and they weren't even engaged yet. The thought nearly made Jane sigh in frustration, mad that she wasn't able to propose yesterday.

_'Soon... When this is all over. I'll find the perfect moment to ask her.'_ The brunette swore to herself.

After a few minutes, Maura handed the baby off to Jane. She also couldn't resist falling in love with her, Kate's adorable face almost too much to handle.

"Wow, she really is something, huh?" Jane murmured, gently rocking her arms back and forth. "I'm really happy for you and Tim. You've got a great kid."

"Thank you, Jane." Abby said, just as her husband opened the bathroom door and walked out. Noticing how pale and flushed he looked, she asked "Are you ok?"

"Oh, I'm fine... Nothing to be concerned about. Must've been something I ate." Tim tried to brush it off, but everyone in the room knew that was a lie. "How's my little girl doing?"

"Just fine..." Jane answered, in between making little cooing noises at baby Kate. "I think she's getting a little tired. Mind if I give her to Frost before you set her down to sleep?"

"No, go right ahead." Abby shrugged, knowing just a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. If Kate were to fall asleep in Frost's arms, he'd just have to be extra gentle handing her back.

While Jane switched off with Frost, Tony walked up behind McGee and patted his back. "You good?"

"Fine, DiNozzo..."

"How about that delivery, though? Wasn't that something? All the screaming and blood... Like it was right out of a horror movie!"

"Tony..." Abby tried to scold her friend, knowing full well what he was up to, but couldn't stop her smile.

"What? I'm just saying it was pretty messy stuff. Right, Probie? You were there. Remember?" Tony jokingly asked, snickering as McGee started coughing. "Something wrong?"

"I... Excuse me!" Tim covered his mouth, once again bolting into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?"

"Never gets old." DiNozzo shrugged at Abby, laughing at the faint sound of his partner getting sick.

As Frost handed Kate back to Abby a moment later, Jane's phone rang. She pulled it from her belt clip as fast as she could, since the noise could wake up Kate. Walking off into the corner so she could have a little privacy, Jane answered the call.

"What's up, Sean?"

"Jane, you better come back to the waiting room. I have to tell you something and I prefer to not do it over the phone."

"Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine here, just... Get back. It's not good news."

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute." Jane ended the call a second later, worry etched across her face. Maura looked up from the baby, instantly concerned seeing her girlfriend's expression.

"Jane? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Cavanaugh just needs to talk to me about something, but everything is ok. You wanna stay here while Frost and I head back to the waiting room?" Jane figured that with Gibbs, Tony, McGee in the room and Raymond standing just outside in the hall, Maura would be safe and well protected if something were to happen.

"Well... If you're sure everything is ok."

"I promise it is. Just gonna go over patrol details again, maybe switch things up to cover more ground."

Maura wasn't convinced Jane was telling the truth, but she let it slide. For now.

"Come back here as soon as you're done."

"You got it." Jane then sealed her promise with a quick but tender kiss on the lips. "I'll be 20 minutes, tops."

* * *

"Alright, I'm here..." Jane announced as she walked back into the waiting room, where her boss was anxiously pacing along the thin carpet. "What was so important that you didn't wanna tell me over the phone?"

"Jacob and Trevor Ballard are dead."

Jane froze in her tracks, her face paling. "Wh-what?"

"They were found a couple hours ago in Trevor's home. It looks like a murder-suicide, but the autopsy is still being performed. We'll know more later-"

"What the hell?! A murder-suicide? That doesn't make any sense..." Jane interrupted Cavanaugh, absolutely furious and confused. She didn't want to accept the fact that a close friend of hers was dead, let alone by the hands of his son. "They're saying Trevor killed his own father, then himself?"

"It looks that way... Jane, I'm so sorry. I know you were pretty close with them."

"This is bullshit and I don't believe it. I don't believe that either of them was a part of this... Someone was cleaning up their mess and tried to frame them. It has to be that."

"But who?" The Lieutenant wondered. "Frost and McGee checked out James Ballard, and he came up clean. It couldn't have been him."

"I don't think it was him either. It had to be someone who knew them... Think about it. Every time Jacob got close to ending things, his leads suddenly went cold. As if someone warned Hoyt and his crew."

"It's plausible..." Sean said, agreeing with the theory. "Someone in their department, probably. What about Jacob's partner, what's his name?"

"David... It's possible. We should check on his whereabouts, but not let anyone know we're on to him just in case."

"Good idea. Frost, you get on that right away."

"Doing it now." The detective replied, grabbing his laptop that was lying on a nearby chair.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Jane swore under her breath, her anger growing.

"You know we'll get to the bottom of this. We always do." Sean told her, hoping to comfort Jane some.

"I know." Jane sighed heavily, tension leaving her body little by little.

"Tell me more about this David guy. What's he like?" Sean asked. He didn't know a thing about this man, only his inclusion in recaps and paperwork for Jane and Frost's undercover work in Africa. Not much else besides that.

"I don't really know, to be honest. I never saw him until that night I was rescued. Jacob said he was busy on a case and that's why he wasn't around. He visited me once in the hospital, and I saw him again at the airport when we left. Other than that, I don't know him. Jacob was really the only one from over there that I kept in touch with."

"Do you think it's possible he's involved?"

Jane was about to answer him, when Frost suddenly cut into the conversation. "I do."

"What did you find?" Jane asked, almost eagerly as she rushed to his side.

"Looks like David left town. Now why would he do that after his partner was just killed?" He wondered with a rhetorical tone to his voice.

"Do you know where to?"

"Hold on..." Frost typed on his laptop, taking longer than usual since he had to access the information undetected. When he cursed under his breath, Jane knew it wasn't good. "He flew out of the country on a privately owned jet. It doesn't list where to, but the time stamp says it was right around when the Ballards must've been killed."

"He's in Boston." Jane said. She knew in her gut that she was right. "If he wasn't involved, then he would've either stayed behind to work the case or notify us if he was leaving the country. Shit just definitely hit the fan now."

"So what do we do?"

"Cav, you come with me. We're gonna need to talk to Gibbs about this and give them a heads up. Maybe he can contact his FBI friend again... Hopefully he can help somehow."

"Alright, let's go." Sean nodded. He briefly glanced at his still sleeping girlfriend, who fortunately seemed to resting peacefully. "I don't want to wake her just yet. The poor woman has been really stressing over this. Hell, we all have..."

"I'll make sure that when she wakes up, I'll tell her things are ok for now. Don't worry, we got things here." Frankie assured, having been quiet the whole time as he listened intently.

Jane knew that she didn't have to tell her brother to keep their mother safe, and that he'd do anything to protect her, so she gave him a quick hug and left the room with Cavanaugh in tow.

* * *

"I'm so proud of you, Abby..." Maura said to her close friend, who was watching her baby sleep soundly. "You really did an amazing job."

"Thanks, Maura. Even with all that's been happening, I'm glad I had her here. Everyone gets a chance to see her before we go back home. I don't know how long we would've had to wait if I had Kate back in DC."

"That's true... Our jobs can keep us very busy sometimes." Maura then looked over at the bathroom door, still closed since Tim was still getting sick. "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom."

"You're not thinking of going alone, are you?" Abby half laughed, but knew Maura might do something crazy like that.

"Of course not." She scoffed, and pointed her thumb towards the main door. "I'll have Vince's friend Raymond escort me. He's a good man, and one Vince trusts with his life. So I'll be ok. It'll only be a few minutes anyway. I won't bother asking Jane, whatever her and Sean are talking about seemed important."

"Ok, but be careful. Come back as soon as you can."

"Don't worry, I will." Maura promised, giving the tired woman in bed a brief hug. Walking towards the door, she told Gibbs and Tony "I'll be right back. I'm having Raymond escort me to the bathroom down the hall."

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to take you? Or we can just kick McGee out of this bathroom if you want."

"No, that's ok, Tony." Maura assured with a chuckle. "He needs it more than I do."

Both agents felt a little uneasy about her leaving, but knew Raymond would be with her. So they let her go.

Maura poked her head out into the hall and saw Raymond standing outside a few feet away. She greeted him with a polite smile and closed the door behind her.

"Anything I can help you with, ma'am?" The kind war veteran wondered, ready to do anything she'd ask of him.

"I just need to use the restroom and was wondering if you'd walk with me down the hall? The new father is losing his breakfast in this bathroom here."

The older man laughed, shaking his head. "Can't handle all the childbirth stuff, huh? I was the same way. Ok, I'll escort you to the restroom. Are you coming back here or no?"

"Thank you, and yes I am. Later on I would like to go back to the waiting room, but Jane will probably want to walk with me herself."

"Of course. Right this way." He said, gesturing towards the end of the hall where the bathroom was. Wanting to make light conversation as they walked together, Raymond asked "So how are you doing? It must be pretty scary to go through all this I bet."

"I'm just worried something will happen to those I love."

"That's understandable. You never want anything to happen to your family and friends. At least you have a lot of them willing to protect one another. I've never seen such a large group of people that would do that. Not since the war."

"Yes, I suppose that is rare." Maura agreed with a smile. "I've been telling my friend Abby, the woman who just had a baby, that I feel so lucky to be a part of both families."

"Both? So are you married to one of them or..."

"No. I have a family that I grew up with in DC, and then there's my girlfriend Jane and her family here that I've gotten to know and love these past 2 years."

"Well that's nice. Your DC family came to visit you guys?"

"Yes. Jane and I recently moved into our new house together and we wanted a big family gathering, since we haven't seen everyone in a while."

"Oh, that's sweet. It's been years since I've had something like that. My kids are all grown up and went on with their busy lives. Work and starting families... Just me and the wife at home, now. Korsak and I hang out when we can, though. We've never gone more than a month without speaking to each other ever since we met back in Vietnam. War is a terrible thing, but it brought a lot us soldiers close together. Kinda like brothers, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You had each other's backs... A strong bond was sure to form. Kind of like Jane and her partners at BPD. Are you a police officer or Detective as well?" Maura wondered. She briefly spoke with Raymond back in the waiting room, but only really got his name and told him about the situation from her point of view.

"Nah, not anymore." He responded, shaking his head. "I retired about 4 years ago... But when Korsak called me up this morning, I just knew I had to help. Michael said the same thing when he picked me up."

"Thank you. We're all very grateful for that."

"It's our pleasure. Oh, here we are." He stopped walking, pointing at a large white door in front of them. "Let me check to see if anyone is in there, first."

Raymond took his gun out of his holster and proceeded to check each stall, finding the bathroom completely empty.

"All clear, ma'am. Take your time, I'll be just outside if you need me."

Maura thanked him once more, watching him leave so he could give her some privacy.

Once she finished relieving herself, Maura took a moment at the sink to collect her thoughts after she washed her hands. She stared into the mirror, noticing the dark circles that begun to form under her eyes.

"You really need to get some sleep." She muttered to herself, and splashed some cold water on her face in an effort to wake up some. "But now isn't the time. You've got a family to worry about."

The Medical Examiner exited the bathroom a minute later, and was surprised to see a different and much younger man standing outside.

"Where's Raymond?"

"Sergeant Korsak needed him. Something about patrols..." The uniformed officer answered. "It's ok, miss. I wouldn't worry. They're probably just being extra careful."

Maura sensed something was off, but didn't mention it. Raymond or someone else in the family would've certainly told her about this officer, or one of the men back at the room would've came over. If this man was bad, which seemed highly likely to Maura, there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't have a gun or a weapon of any sort with her. The only protection she had was her bare hands. Kate had trained her some in the past, and Jane had also coached her in a little boxing and self defense, but she wasn't sure she was much of a fighter.

She nodded at him nervously, and began to walk down the hall with the stranger, on guard the entire time.

"You're not with BPD, are you?"

"No, I'm not." He replied with a sinister laugh, the chilling sound causing Maura to break out into a sudden sprint. Since she was wearing heels, the man quickly caught up with her, roughly grabbing ahold of her arm. "Not so fast, bitch. You aren't going anywhere."

"HEL-" Maura tried to yell for someone to help, but her mouth was covered by the man's large hand. She tried to stomp on his foot, but he kicked away her legs and dragged her along with him, one of her shoes falling off in the process.

He brought her to a nearby stairwell, and pushed open the door with his shoulder.

Maura's eyes widened in shock and fear when she saw Ian Faulkner grinning evilly at her on the steps.

"Maura Isles... Just the person I wanted to see. Oh, we are going to have _so_ much fun together."

* * *

**Shit! Not good, not good at all! Will Jane and the team get to Maura in time, or will Ian kill her? And what happened to Raymond? Surely he wouldn't leave Maura, right? Find out what happens next soon! Be sure to leave your thoughts and predictions in the reviews. :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Oh man... Things have definitely gotten worse. Hopefully Jane and the team will get to Maura in time! :0**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 10

Jane and Cavanaugh both noticed that Raymond wasn't outside of the room, but figured he was out on patrol around the corner. So neither said anything as they entered the room where their family was.

The Sergeant's panic rose slightly after her eyes searched for Maura, not finding her within sight. She tried to remain calm, knowing that wherever she was, a guard would be with her.

"Where's Maura?"

"She went to the bathroom a few minutes ago. Raymond walked with her." Abby explained, alleviating Jane's worry some.

Jane nodded once, then replied "Ok. It's probably the one down the hall, near that nurses station. Cav, you stay here and update Gibbs."

"Where are you going?"

"Down the hall." She told her boss, tilting her head towards the door. "I'm gonna check on Maura."

"Take Tony with you." Gibbs said, suddenly cutting into the conversation. "It's not that far of a walk, but you never know what could happen. You've got a target on your back, too."

"Yeah, you're right..." Jane sighed slightly, agreeing with him. She then turned to DiNozzo, who was just getting out of chair, and asked "You don't mind do you?"

"Of course not. Let's go." Tony responded as he tossed the newspaper he was reading across the room, the reading material landing with a soft thud on a table.

Together, the pair walked out of the room, closing the door behind them as quietly as possible to not disturb the sleeping newborn.

"Are you doing ok, Tony?"

"Fine, why do you ask?"

"Well..." Jane trailed off for a moment, trying to figure out a way to word things without hurting or upsetting Tony. "Abby named the baby Kate, is that hard for you?"

"It actually isn't. Abby and McGee told me about them wanting to name the baby that if it were a girl, a while back, and I was ok with it. It's nice knowing Kate's memory will carry on like that."

"I know Maura feels the same way about it... She seemed really touched."

"Same here." Tony smiled sadly, but also didn't have a problem talking about his late girlfriend. He moved past his terrible grief a while ago with the help of family and friends, also finding it helpful to talk about Kate. "I just wish she was still here with us."

"So do I." Jane was about to say something else, but suddenly stopped in her tracks at an odd sight before her. A single tan high heel lied on its side, right in the middle of the hallway. She rushed over to inspect the footwear closer, and sucked in a sharp breath. "Maura."

"Shit..." Tony cursed, also recognizing who the shoe belonged to. He immediately pulled out his service weapon, looking around the narrow hallway but didn't see anyone.

Jane did the same, and ran to the bathroom where she hoped Maura would be. Busting open the door, the brunette shouted "Maura!"

She kicked opened the stalls, but saw nothing. Her panic from early came back and quickly grew with each passing second, completely terrified for her now missing girlfriend.

"Tony..." Jane nearly panted, her breathing starting to get ragged from deep worry. "Go get the others, now! Tell them Maura and Raymond are gone."

* * *

"Where is he, Korsak?! Where the hell did Raymond take Maura!" Jane shouted at her partner, her eyes wide with fear and desperation. She wasn't angry with him, far from it, but the last person Maura was seen with was his friend and maybe he would know something.

"I don't know! I've been calling his phone nonstop and he won't pick up."

"She was just taken in _broad daylight_... And I wasn't there to protect her. I gotta find her!" Jane yelled, looking as thought she were about to storm off by herself. The fellow Sergeant grabbed her shoulders roughly to keep her in place. With a stern voice, Jane said "Vince... Let go of me."

"Jane, calm down. You're gonna get yourself killed if you let your anger rule your mind like this. Just breathe... Take a deep breath, ok?"

She did as advised, closing her eyes for a second. After feeling her shoulders relax, Korsak let go of her.

"The hospital is on full alert. We're checking every room for them..." Korsak informed. "We'll find her, Jane. I promise we will."

"And what if we don't? I can't live without her..."

"You won't have to. Maura is a tough woman, she'll be ok until we get her back."

Just as Jane smiled at his reassurance, Frankie approached the two of them.

"Korsak... I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but we... We found Raymond."

"Found? So he's ok?" Korsak wondered, but the grim look on the young detective's face told him otherwise. "How?"

"His throat was slashed. Doctors tried their best to revive him, but..." Frankie trailed off, not needing to finish his sentence.

"Son of a bitch." Korsak cursed, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. His knees trembled beneath him, so Jane had him sit down on the floor. He slid down against the wall, collapsing onto hard tile as grief overtook him.

"Vince, I'm so sorry..." Jane apologized, feeling a tremendous amount of guilt and sorrow. She may not have known Raymond well, but Korsak knew him for almost 40 years.

"He survived a brutal war... Shot in the damn chest and lived to talk about it. I never thought Ray would die like this. Oh god... What am I gonna tell his wife and kids?" He sobbed, clearly devastated. "I should've been with him. I should've..."

"Hey... Stop that. This isn't your fault." Jane calmly assured, wrapping an arm around his shoulder in a tight hug. "None of us knew they were in the building."

"Exactly! I should've patrolled the area with him, and maybe we would've caught Ian's men... Now he's dead and we have no clue where Maura is."

"I have an idea of where to start looking." Frost announced, just now joining the group in the hall outside of Abby's room. The three of them look at the detective expectantly, so he explained "A private plane landed at LaGuardia a few hours ago, it came from Stad Van Hitte."

"David." Jane growled through her teeth. She stood up and asked her friend "Do we know where is he now?"

"No, but I think I know where he might be. He had a cab waiting for him at the airport, I called the company and asked where David was taken to and they said it was a hotel. There's a chance he still might be there-"

"What the hell are we still doing here, then? C'mon, let's get going!" Jane cut in, eager to leave. "Frankie, stay here with Ma and the others. I'm gonna take Frost and Gibbs with me."

"I'm going, too." Korsak announced, discreetly wiping away his tears as he got off the floor. They all looked at him, surprised he wanted to leave. "I want to do this for Ray. He was my friend and a good man."

"Are you sure you can do this?" Jane asked, wanting to make sure he was thinking clearly. The conversation mirrored the one they had only minutes ago, the roles now reversed.

"Yes. Now let's get David and show him that nobody messes with this family."

* * *

Maura fought with her abductors every step of the way, until they became so frustrated with her that one of Ian's men knocked her unconscious with the butt of his gun. Once she was out cold, the kidnapped woman was tightly bound with duct tape on her wrists and ankles so she wouldn't be able to get away later.

The man who took Raymond's place outside of the bathroom carried her body and shoved her into the trunk of their car, while Ian and another man kept a look out. The man disguised as a police officer then got into the driver's seat, while Ian plopped into the passenger side and the other climbed in the roomy backseat. The henchman pulled out of the spot beside the hospital building, not going fast to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

Unfortunately for Maura, no one was around to see any of this take place. Ian had been watching them all closely ever since they left the house, monitoring their patrols and timed it perfectly to grab her. It was sheer luck for him and misfortune for Maura that she picked that exact moment to use the bathroom.

When she woke a few minutes later still in the trunk, she had a pounding headache. Maura tried to touch the area to see if there was any bleeding, but discovered she was restrained.

"Oh no..." She whispered, her lips trembling as she started to cry, her claustrophobia setting in. The frightened doctor instinctively tried to break the tape, but it was too strong for her. She then began to nibble on the silver restraint, grateful that her mouth was at least free.

Maura felt the car stop, and froze her actions, paralyzed with fear. The engine was still running, and she could faintly hear male voices coming from inside the car.

"Just go through the damn light!" Someone shouted with annoyance, but she couldn't tell who the voice belonged to. "We don't need to be out here longer than necessary."

"Yeah, so we can get pulled over? What are you gonna tell the cops about the broad in the trunk, huh?" Another voice asked with annoyed sarcasm. "What a dumbass..."

"You want me to smack the back of your fucking head? Don't get me angry."

"Both of you shut the hell up and relax. We've got enough time... It's only been 10 minutes, they probably don't even know she's gone yet. We're in the clear."

Despite the loud engine and the sounds of traffic around them, Maura instantly knew who this third voice belonged to.

It was Ian's.

"Stay calm, Maura... Just stay calm and maybe you have a chance to get out of this." Maura murmured to herself, and resumed tearing away at the tape with her teeth. She was able to rip it right down the middle, and after a brief struggle, Maura freed her hands.

The blonde brought her knees to her chest, and reached down to the tape that held her ankles together. She wasn't sure how she could rip it from that angle, so Maura looked around the dark trunk for anything sharp.

Beside her head was a few empty bottles of water and some plastic bags. They appeared to be empty as well, but she searched anyway. Using her hands to feel around inside since it was pitch black, Maura grabbed hold of something sharp, inadvertently cutting her palm.

"Damn it!" She cursed, wincing in pain. Maura gently pulled out whatever cut her, and squinted in the darkness to see that it was a large rusty nail. The tip of it wet with her own blood. She ignored the sight and used the nail to cut away at the tape around her ankles. Once it started ripping, she was able to pull the tape completely off.

_'Finally... Now I can move. Maybe when they open the trunk I can hit them and make a run for it. I just hope someone will be able to help me.' _Maura thought to herself, sticking the nail between her fingers and making a fist.

That was her only weapon and she was more than prepared to use it. Maura didn't exactly have an escape plan except to run, hoping that she wasn't in the middle of nowhere. Wherever she was being taken, Maura was relieved no one else was with her. She couldn't bare the thought of that.

Several minutes later, after turning corners and stopping at the occasional light, the car came to a stop. Maura knew they reached their destination when the engine was turned off.

When she heard doors slam and footsteps getting closer and closer to the trunk, Maura adjusted her grip on the nail, ready to stab at whoever was there.

The trunk popped open, the brightness of the sun temporarily disorienting Maura's vision. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ian pointing a gun at her.

"Someone's been a bad girl..." Ian said, making a _tsk_ like sound and took the nail away from Maura, tossing it aside. "We're going to have to teach you a lesson."

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Maura stuttered out, trying to move but was cornered in the trunk with nowhere to go.

"I told you. We're going to have some fun together..." He grinned, and signaled to his men to grab Maura as he put away his gun, not finding the captive threatening in any way.

She screamed as she was being hauled out and was slapped across the face in response, her cheek instantly reddening.

"Quiet!" Ian ordered. "You keep that up and I'll give you something to scream about."

"Let me go! Please!" She begged, struggling to get out of the strong grips but to no avail. "If you don't, Jane is going to come here and kill all of you. You'd be wise to get out of the city while you still can."

"Oh, Maura... Why would I do that now? I haven't gotten my revenge yet."

"So you are going to kill me?"

"Yes, but first I want you to feel the same pain of losing a loved one that you forced me to deal with." Ian told her, referring to his brother that Maura shot and killed nearly 2 years earlier. "Here's what's going to happen... We're going to call your lovely girlfriend, Jane. She's going to come here to try and save you. Alone, at my instruction. Then you'll watch as I slowly and painfully torture her until she begs me to kill her. After I do, you're next."

"That's _never_ going to happen."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Ian replied with a cocky tone, displaying a smug grin that Maura wanted to punch right off of his face. "Boys, take our guest inside and make her feel at home."

"Yes, sir." Both men happily answered with menacing smiles on their faces, dragging Maura across an alley and into what appeared to be the back of an old bar.

As she was a being brought in, Maura tried to look for a street sign or even an address. All she could see was a few brick buildings and weeds sticking out of the ground everywhere, but not much else. She had absolutely no idea where she was at. Even if she did, Maura wasn't sure what good the information would do. She didn't have access to a phone, so she couldn't call for help or warn Jane of Ian's intentions.

_'Oh dear... How am I going to get out of this?'_

* * *

**Poor Raymond... Korsak will definitely not let his death go. If the team finds David, it won't be a good day for him. But on the somewhat bright side, Maura is still alive. Hopefully her rescue goes well! **

**Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave your thoughts and predictions in the reviews! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy the next chapter :)**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 11

"How are we gonna do this?" Frost asked the group on their way to David's last known location. "Should we split up to cover more ground?"

"That would be our best option." Gibbs replied from the backseat, double checking the ammo in his gun. "It's risky, though. There's a chance one or all of us getting pinned down."

Jane, who been running through plans in her head, suggested "How about teams of two? It's better than all of us going together or by ourselves."

The men silently exchanged glances, unsure of what to decide.

"We gotta agree on a plan now. We're here." Jane said with an urgent tone, just as she pulled the car up near the hotel, not wanting to be directly in front in case David saw them coming.

"Teams of two." All three men said at the same time, agreeing that would be the best plan with the least risks and were able to cover more ground that way. If David was still in the building, or possibly Ian and Maura, a solid getaway plan for them would difficult if they were surrounded.

"Good." Jane breathed a sigh of relief, although it was obvious that the Sergeant was still very much on edge. "Frost, you're with me."

"I got your back, partner."

The four of them then got out of the car together, only separating once they got into the lobby. Korsak and Gibbs went over to the front desk for a moment, asking an employee what room David had checked into. Once she saw their badges, the young woman quickly gave the men the much needed information.

Meanwhile, Jane and Frost took the stairwell. They carefully made their way up the long flights of steps, just in case their team was seen and David was on the move. Luckily for them, there was only one set of steps on the east side of the somewhat small brick building. So if Korsak and Gibbs got to his room and David ran, he would run right towards Jane.

The two former Marines were silent the entire elevator ride up, both in a fierce concentration and trying to not think about all of things that could go wrong.

The elevator stopped moving and a ding sound indicated they arrived on the selected floor, and stepped out onto old dirty carpet. The men paid no mind to the filthy conditions of the hotel, their eyes trained solely on the door to David's room just down the hall.

With their guns already out of the holsters, Korsak and Gibbs quietly made their way to where they hoped the dirty cop still was. The Sergeant nodded to his friend, both standing on opposite sides of the door. Gibbs returned the gesture to signify that he was ready, and kicked the door down.

Gibbs went in first, the experienced man checking his corners as Korsak followed closely behind to check the rest of the room.

After searching the closet and bathroom, both men didn't find anyone hiding.

"Damn it, we must've missed him..." Korsak cursed under his breath and slid his gun back in place on his belt.

"Maybe we can track him." Gibbs said, and when Korsak turned to face him to respond, the NCIS agent pointed to the nightstand that had a laptop on it. He opened up the sleek device, and both of their eyes widened in shock at what they saw.

There on the screen was a video feed of Maura, tied to a chair as she being mercilessly beaten by two men.

"Is it a live feed?" Korsak managed to ask through his stunned state, and Gibbs was able to make himself shrug.

Neither were sure if this was happening now, but quickly got their answer.

"Sergeant Korsak, how lovely to finally see you." A voice called out from off screen. "And you brought a friend. I guess you need one after what happened to poor Raymond... It's a shame about that."

"Faulkner." Korsak growled in a low breath, his fury building.

The Australian native appeared in front of the webcam a second later, his pearly white grin on full display.

"You must be Agent Gibbs." Ian said with a smug tone, irritating the already angry man. "I've heard a lot about you when I worked with Maura at the hospital back in Africa. She holds you up quite highly, I must say."

"Let her go." Gibbs ordered. "I swear if you don't stop hurting her..."

"You'll have to find me first." The criminal with a vendetta laughed mockingly. "I know Jane is in the building somewhere... So before we begin discussing things further, I'd like for her to join us."

The chilling words prompted Korsak to pull out his cellphone, quickly calling his partner.

"Jane..." Korsak began before Jane could have the chance to say anything. "You need to get up here. Fast."

* * *

As soon as Jane heard those words, she all but flew up the rest of the steps with Frost, not caring about how fatigued it made her. When she finally got to the room, the out of breath Sergeant rushed inside.

"Is she here?!" Jane asked, panting heavily.

"No, but..." Korsak trailed off for a moment, trying to think of way to prepare her for the horrific sight. "We found something."

Jane noticed how the two men were standing in front of something, so she tried to step around them.

"Get out of my way." She said with her jaw clenched tightly, knowing that whatever they were trying to protect her from must be bad.

"Jane, you need to prepare yourself for this." Gibbs advised her. "It's not good."

"I don't care, just get out of my way."

When Jane tried to step around them this time, they didn't try to stop her.

"Maura!" She yelled in shock as her jaw dropped at the sight of Maura getting slapped around by an unfamiliar man, presumably one of Ian's henchmen. "Get your fucking hands off her!"

The man stopped at the sound of her frantic voice, and an offscreen voice spoke to greet her.

"Well, well..." Ian said as he appeared in front of the camera again. "Nice to see you again, Jane. It's about time you showed up. I didn't think Maura could take much more waiting."

"Let her go you son of a bitch!"

"Oh no..." He laughed. "I can't do that. My boys and I are having a blast with our little guest... But I'll tell you what. You can come pick her up later if you want."

"I'm not playing games with you, Faulkner."

"Neither am I." His voice suddenly became serious, done with the joking and teasing around for now. "If you want to see Maura alive again, meet us at Dorchester Park at midnight tonight. Come alone."

"There's no way in hell I'm going alone." Jane scoffed at the instruction. If she agreed to that plan, Ian could kill her and Maura despite any promises he made them. "How can I trust you?"

"Because if I see anyone with or near you, I'll kill Maura right on the spot." He simply replied, as if the conversation he was having was over something much less serious. Almost as if he was bored. "It's your choice, Jane. You've got time to decide."

In the background, Maura is being beaten again. Ian signaled for them to stop, and brought the camera over to her.

"I don't think she can last much longer."

Now up close and with the clear quality of the camera, Jane was able to get a good look of Maura's face. Her heart shattered at the sight of her girlfriend's bruised and cut cheeks, welts already beginning to form underneath the blood that dripped down them as if they were tears. The worst of this was the terrified look in Maura's eyes, and Jane knew that stare would haunt her forever.

Ian trailed his finger across her cheek, and Maura flinched away in fear.

"You had better come to a conclusion fast." Ian warned with a sinister chuckle. "I'll be calling you later. Bye for now."

"Wait!" Jane tried to yell, but it was too late. Ian ended the video call, leaving the room eerily silent.

* * *

"Please... Stop..." Maura weakly begged, almost breathless and unable to withstand much more of the heavy blows. To her relief, the attackers backed away. Her head hung low, chin against her chest as she closed her eyes.

The exhausted doctor wasn't given much time to rest, only a minute had passed until a voice with a thick accent woke her.

"It won't be long, Maura..." Ian told her, wiping away a little blood from the corner of mouth, squatting down in front of her. "I'll have my men ambush Jane in the park tonight. Then we'll really have some fun."

"Please don't hurt her."

"Did you give my brother a chance to beg for his life?" Ian asked, his cold eyes staring into tired hazel ones. "You shot him in cold blood."

"He was trying to kill us, I had no choice... I'm sorry-"

"I don't want to hear your pathetic apologies!" Ian shouted as he angrily backhanded her face, Maura's tears mixing with the dried blood on her cheeks. "I'm going to even the score. An eye for an eye, if you will... When Jane is brought back here, I'll have her tied up much the same way as you are now. Right there in front of you. You'll watch helplessly as I torture her... I'll break each bone, one by one until she can't take any more pain. But I won't stop there. I won't stop until every drop of blood is out of her body. Maybe then you'll experience the same pain you put me through."

"You don't have to do this. You have me! Kill me and not her! Please!" Maura pleaded, energy suddenly returning to her beaten and battered body.

Ian ignored her, knowing that if he spoke with her more than he had, he'd kill her out of anger. He couldn't lose control, not yet. So instead, Ian walked away and out the room, only stopping briefly to speak with the two men he drove there with.

The one who had pretended to be a police officer, now plain clothed, patted at his pockets but discovered they were empty. Speaking to his friend, the thug asked "Hey man, you got a light? I can't find my matches."

"Yeah, sure." The other replied, getting a zippo from his jacket pocket and handing it over.

"Thanks..." He responded, inhaling the toxic chemicals into his throat a few times until a thick cloud of smoke filled the tiny and confined room. "You know, I've been trying to quit for years now."

"Is that right? I heard it's pretty tough." He smirked at his friend's tone, knowing that he was up to something.

"I think this should be my last one. In fact, I'm not even going to finish it."

"Need an ashtray?" The second man wondered as he was given his lighter back. "I think we've got a few in front."

"Nah, that's ok. I've something better to use to put this out." The smoker grinned at Maura, the honey blonde swallowing a hard lump in her throat in fear of what he was obviously planning to do. She tried to squirm away as he slowly approached her, but was too tightly bound. He got down onto his knee and grabbed her foot, bringing the lit cigarette close to it.

"Don't... I can't... Can't take it anymore..." She begged again in a broken voice, feeling the heat of the cigarette just mere centimeters away from her foot.

Her cries for the torture to stop were brushed aside as if they weren't even uttered. The pretend police officer laughed as he roughly pushed the cigarette deep into the bottom of her foot, squishing and twisting it until it went out.

"Ahh!" Maura screamed in agony as she threw her head back, the sole of her bloody foot throbbing from being burned.

_'I have to do something...'_ She thought to herself as the worst of the pain began to subside, although her entire body still ached tremendously. _'I refuse to let Jane suffer like this. There has to be a way out. Maybe before they leave I can figure something out? Come on, Maura... You've got to hang in there for just a little while longer.'_

* * *

"Anything?" Jane asked Frost, the group still in the hotel room as the young Detective tried to run a trace on the laptop.

"No... I'm sorry, Jane. I don't know what they're using, so I can't get through. Every wall I try to hurdle, another and even more complicated one is just behind it."

"Keep trying." She told him, trying her best to keep her anger in check and not take it out on him. She wanted to save all of that for Ian, especially after seeing Maura's condition.

While Frost continued trying to hack into the laptop to find Maura, the others searched the room. It was pretty much clean except the laptop, no other signs of a guest or employee.

Jane got down on her hands and knees to look under the bed, not expecting to find anything but was shocked to see a tiny object by the corner adjacent to the nightstand.

Reaching under to grab it, Jane discovered it was a pack of matches.

"Guys, I've got something. Come here." The Italian called out to Korsak and Gibbs, who were on opposite sides of the room as they too tried searching for clues. "This says it's from Magillicuddy's Bar."

"Didn't that place close down years ago?" Korsak wondered as he walked over to where Jane was standing.

"Yeah, it did... Martinez and some other guys from the drug unit raided it and seized a ton of illegal stuff."

"That's right, I remember now." Korsak recalled. "That's how Martinez got promoted to Lieutenant. Huge case all over the papers."

"This has gotta be where they're keeping her... I couldn't really see what kind of room they were holding her in, but it looked old and abandoned. Whoever set this room up must've left the matches behind, I don't think it was from hotel staff. Everything seems to fit."

"They probably wanted us to find the matches." Frost theorized without taking his eyes away from the laptop, still trying but unfortunately failing to get a trace.

"I don't think so..." Jane disagreed, although the idea seemed plausible. "This isn't where Ian said to meet with him, so the matches were probably left here by accident."

"We should go. If Ian plans on bringing Maura to that park, we should go to this bar before he has a chance to move her." Gibbs suggested, and everyone seemed to think that was the best course of action.

"Let's move." Jane said, exiting the room with her family in tow.

* * *

"Everything is ok over here. What's going on at the hotel?" Frankie asked his older sister, hoping for some good news.

"David wasn't there, but we found something else." Jane took a deep breath, not wanting to get too emotional. Now wasn't the time. "There was a laptop left and when we opened it up, we saw Maura on the screen. She's in bad shape, Frankie..."

"Shit..." Her brother cursed as he closed his eyes, silently praying that Maura would be ok. Sensing that wasn't all Jane had to tell, he asked "What else did you see?"

"Ian." She said his name with disgust, as if it left a sour taste on her tongue. "He told me to meet up at Dorchester Park at midnight tonight if I want to see Maura alive again."

"Is that where you guys are headed now? It's only noon."

"I know that, but that's not all we found. After the video call ended, I found a pack of matches under the bed with the name of a closed bar on it. We don't think they left it there on purpose, so that's probably where they are now. Hopefully it's the same place Maura is being held in."

"You guys be careful... I've got plenty of ammo and protective gear in the trunk of that car. Use as much as you need."

"We will. Thanks, Frankie." Jane replied with a smile even though he couldn't see her face. "This could go down really bad, so I want you to know that if something happens to me..."

"Nothing is going to happen to you." Frankie cut her off. "The only ones who should be worried is Ian and his guys. He messed with Jane Rizzoli, and _nobody_ gets away with that. Now go get Maura and bring her back to us."

"See you as soon as I can."

Jane ended the call then, and focused back on the road ahead of them. Magillicuddy's Bar wasn't terribly far away from the hotel, which was good. She loathed the thought of what Maura must still be going through right now, and wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

Within 15 minutes, the bar came into view. The sign in front hung haphazardly on the crumbling structure, weeds sticking out of the sidewalk all over the place. It appeared as though no one had been in the area for some time, the setting perfect for a creepy horror movie.

That's what it felt like to Jane. Her life had be turned upside down the moment Maura's life was in danger. Although she wasn't as religious as her mother, never going along with her to church or holiday services, she kept praying to a god she very often didn't bother talking to. Or to anyone that may have been listening.

_'Please let Maura be ok.'_

They all got out of the car and once again split up into teams of two, Jane and Frost going to the back while Korsak and Gibbs went to the front door.

As far as they knew, they luckily hadn't been spotted yet. Neither of the pairs approached the area slowly, making sure they got in there before Maura could be further injured or killed.

Once they saw a couple of cars parked by the bar, their guts told them that this had to be the place where Maura was. The bar, and the other various stores along the vacated street, had long been closed and forgotten. It was the perfect place to hide out.

"Ready?" Frost whispered to Jane at the door, and she nodded once in response.

She inhaled deeply, adjusting the grip on her gun before kicking down the door and charging inside.

* * *

**Could this be the same bar where Maura is? If so, will Jane and team be able to rescue her? Find out soon! Be sure to leave your thoughts and predictions in the reviews! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**What a cliffhanger I left you guys w****ith last chapter! I won't spoil anything, but I promise there won't be much more suspense. Although you'll have to get through this chapter first... ;)**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 12

As soon as Jane busted down the door and rushed inside, Ian's men were startled but well prepared for the intrusion. There were two of them playing a game of poker on an old table, which was immediately flipped over to give them time to get to cover.

From behind the wall in a corner, each of them stuck their arms out to shoot at Jane and Frost, who fired back. It was hard to hear in the room, the loud and chaotic sounds of gunshots and shouting filling everyone's ears instantly.

"Put your weapons down and you can walk out of this alive!" Frost ordered, although he didn't expect such ruthless killers like those to comply. He was right, of course. As soon as he uttered the words, a bullet was fired in his direction.

"Go to hell!"

"After you!" He shouted back between shots, carefully peaking his head out behind cover to get a look at where the voice came from. The room they were in was somewhat large, and with the constant popping of gunshots, both in that room and up front where Korsak and Gibbs were, made it difficult to pinpoint someone's position.

Meanwhile, Jane was behind the old dusty bar, seeking cover from the rapid fire being shot in every direction. She heard the interaction between Frost and the criminal, hoping that it distracted them enough for her. At least for a few seconds.

The Sergeant signaled to her partner she was going to move, and got a quick nod in response.

As quietly as possible, Jane crawled on her knees to the other end of the bar. Despite the the loud noises of bullets ripping into the smoke filled air, both from cigarettes and gunfire, she didn't want to chance one or both of them hearing a creak in the rotted wood floor by her movements.

Just like Frost had done moments ago, Jane peered around the edge of cover and saw both of the men looking in her partner's direction. Grateful their attention was elsewhere, the brunette fired her weapon at each of them.

They screamed in pain from their wounds, collapsing to the ground and clutching their bleeding legs. She didn't want to kill them unless absolutely necessary, so Jane aimed for somewhere not as life threatening.

"Frost!" Jane said, checking on her best friend as she kept her gun trained on the henchmen.

"Yeah, I'm good." He replied, stepping away from behind his cover. The detective approached the screaming men and kicked away their guns, effectively rendering each of them weaponless and unable to keep fighting. "I got things here, go find-"

"Let go of me!"

Jane and Frost nearly froze at the distraught shout, both recognizing that voice belonging to Maura.

"Maura!" Jane yelled, running towards the sound of her cries for help. They seemed to be fading, as if she was being moved somewhere else.

She turned the corner and intended to walk down a narrow hallway, one that most likely led to a small office, but was met with more gunshots. Jane ducked into a doorway, presumably a bathroom since it wreaked of one, and heard Ian's thick accented voice speaking to her.

"If you come any closer, she's dead!"

"Let her go or I swear you'll end up in a body bag!"

"Not a chance, Sergeant!" He smugly yelled back as he roughly held Maura against him in a near chokehold, the poor woman unable to fight her way out due to her injuries. "How about we play one last game?"

"Let. Her. Go." She demanded, practically snarling at him.

"That's not a good attitude. Part of the game _is_ letting her go... If you want a chance in saving her, you'll have to catch me."

"You're cornered, there's nowhere else for you to go. Just give up! There's no reason for any more of your idiotic games."

"How much do you know about this building, Jane?"

The question threw the brunette off, and it took her a second to think of an answer.

"Enough to know that you have nowhere to go." She said, then added "We already took care of your boys in the back. I'm sure you can hear my partners taking care of the ones up front. It's only a matter of time before we come back there and kill you."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong." Ian replied, his tone still thick with smugness. "I _do_ have a way out."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jane! He's going to-" Maura tried to warn, but was cut off when Ian held her throat even tighter than he was already.

"That's enough out of you..." He warned in a low growl. "I'm terribly sorry for the interruption, Jane. Now where were we? Oh, yes... My way out. If you know so much about this building, then you'll know how old it is. How it's practically going to fall down at any moment."

"What's your point?" Jane asked, her anger building even more than it was at the sound of Maura getting hurt yet again.

"My point is that things are falling apart. Including this wall I'm standing in front of... A hole is in it leading directly to the building next door, where my car is coincidentally parked behind. Maura and I will go for a little joy ride, and if you catch us, you'll get her back. But if you lose, she dies. So how about it, Jane? Will you play? Oh that's right, you don't have a choice."

"Don't you even think about it..."

"Catch ya later, Jane." Ian mockingly laughed, and disappeared from the bar manager's office with Maura still struggling in his arms every step of the way.

"Faulkner!" Jane shouted, but didn't get a response. She felt her heart stop, and knew in her gut that he wasn't lying about the hole in the wall. Jane suddenly sprinted back to where Frost still was, intending to grab the car keys off of him. "Ian escaped with Maura, I need the car! Now!"

"I'll go with you."

"No! There's no time. Stay here with Korsak and Gibbs, make sure they're ok. Just give me the keys."

"Be careful." Frost advised her, tossing the keys at her that were in his pocket still. He hated that she was going alone, she could be falling right into a trap for all they knew. But it had to be done this way. This may be the only chance they have at rescuing Maura and the window was closing fast. Frost knew Jane would do anything it took to get her back.

Without another word, Jane made a mad dash for the car.

* * *

As Jane rushed outside and hopped into her car, she could see Ian's speeding off, rocks and grass getting kicked up from his tires. She also saw his arm outstretched, pointing a gun to Maura's head.

She didn't waste any time and pressed her foot on the gas pedal and floored it out of the alley, chasing the man who took her girlfriend.

Although she was worried about leaving the others behind, she knew they'd be ok without her. There wasn't much room in a tiny bar like that to fit many people, and fully trained men such as Frost, Korsak, and Gibbs would have no problems taking care of it.

It didn't take long for Jane to catch up to Ian, right on his tail within a minute of the chase. She wasn't sure how she'd stop him and not inadvertently kill Maura in the process, but she couldn't very well lose sight of them. Maybe if she could just get close enough, Jane could tap his car with hers. Not enough to send the moving vehicle spinning out of control, but enough for him to take the gun away from Maura and put both hands on the wheel to prevent a crash. If he did that, Jane may be able to shoot him.

It was a near impossible feat to do that, but that was the only thing Jane could think of. She's been in her fair share of car chases before, but never with a hostage involved. It was tricky thing, and Jane hoped there was some way to keep Maura alive.

Even if it costed her own life to save her. Although she didn't want it to come to that, of course. But if that meant Maura would live, she would die for her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Ian suddenly cut the wheel and sharply turned left, merging onto a busy road and side swiping a few cars.

Jane flicked on the sirens in an effort to clear the way for her, and was grateful people pulled over onto the shoulder. At her fast speed, Jane nearly slammed into a barrier, but the expert driver was able to avoid the collision.

With Ian and Maura still in her sight, Jane sped up again.

The tall woman grabbed her gun that had been lying in her lap, ready to shoot if she was given the opportunity.

Although the cars nearly a whole mile back moved aside for the Sergeant, it was difficult for the ones ahead to do so. Traffic was so thick and congested on the bridge, no one could get anywhere for at least a half an hour. Jane knew Ian would have no choice but to stop.

What happened next both terrified and amazed her.

When Ian attempted to squeeze through the cars, Maura bravely took the opportunity to disarm the unsuspecting man. She moved away Ian's arm away from her and slammed his head into the steering wheel, sending the car flying into the back of another.

Airbags instantly deployed, somewhat cushioning the blow of the crash. When Maura lifted her head up, she saw Ian scrambling to look for the gun he had dropped as he held his bleeding nose, which appeared to broken. The honey blonde didn't waste the previous seconds she had and opened the passenger door so fast she broke the old handle right off, not paying any mind to it as she bolted for safety.

It was at that moment Ian found his gun, right where Maura's feet had been, and tried to shoot his escaped prisoner. Maura heard the shots and screamed, and in a panic, she dove behind one of the cars.

Jane saw the whole thing, and as soon as she reached them, she slammed on the brakes and jumped out of her car. She saw Ian get out of the car as well, and knew he was going after Maura. The Italian woman shot at the criminal, but the bullet misses.

The revived gunfight distracted Ian long enough for Maura to move to another car, just as people left their cars and ran for safety, screaming in fear for their lives.

Jane sat behind the trunk of a large pickup and reloaded her weapon, taking the time to taunt Ian.

"What are you going to do now, Faulkner? Game's over."

"It's not over until one of us is dead, and it won't be me." He shouted back, also reloading his gun. "You thought Hoyt was a sadistic son of a bitch? You haven't seen anything yet! I'll do so much worse to you and Maura."

"You won't ever get the chance. It's _over_. The only way for you to get out of this alive is to just lay down your weapon."

"I think you and I both know that's not going to happen." Ian replied, cocking his gun after sliding in the round of ammo. He leaned out of cover and shot at Jane's direction, effectively keeping her pinned down. When he did this, he saw Maura's bruised and bloodied feet hiding behind a nearby vehicle. He grinned evilly and walked over to her in a crouched position.

Maura knew Ian was close, having heard his and Jane's brief shouting match. She had to move or else he would find her.

The bridge they were on had water only a dozen feet below, which was safe enough to jump into at that height. Maura decided that once she was in the water, she could hide under the bridge and out of Ian's sight.

Not wanting to chicken out of jumping, Maura didn't think twice about it as she ran to the edge. She put one leg up and over the thin railing, and was about to slide over when she saw him.

"It seems fitting you go out the same way my brother did... Goodbye, Maura."

Ian stood up as he aimed his gun at horrified hazel eyes and fired, the bullet hitting her left shoulder. The sudden and powerful force of it sent her flying over the edge, her body smacking loudly into the freezing cold water.

The revenge driven man made yet another mistake. He was so fueled by his rage in wanting to kill Maura, he failed to notice he was out in the open.

Jane saw her chance and took it, shooting the vulnerable man in the head and killing him instantly. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, blood seeping out of the gaping wound.

* * *

Jane's gun was still smoking as she ran past Ian's lifeless body over to where Maura had fallen just seconds ago, and looked over the edge of the bridge.

"Maura!" The terrified woman frantically yelled, and finally saw Maura's body that was floating face down. Without thinking, Jane hopped over the railing and jumped in after her.

The water was bone chillingly cold, but it luckily didn't have a current too strong for a skilled swimmer like Jane. Although it only took her a matter of seconds to get to Maura, it felt like a lifetime to her.

She pulled Maura's face out of the water, and saw that she was unconscious. Jane lightly slapped her face a few times in an effort to wake her, but Maura wouldn't respond to it.

"Come on, Maura... Wake up." Jane begged, struggling to keep both of them afloat as Maura's shoulder wound trickled out blood and into the water surrounding them. "Sweetie, you gotta wake up. Come on!"

The Sergeant looked around for someone to help, or anything useful, and saw land that was fortunately just a few feet ahead of them. She dragged Maura across and onto the rocky patch of land, where she immediately began CPR.

A gunshot wound to the shoulder isn't usually life threatening, but the added danger of Maura's beatings as well as the shock of being shot and falling into cold water certainly didn't help matters much for the weakened woman.

"It can't end like this for us, Maur... You can't die!" Jane pleaded in a hoarse cry as she kept giving her chest compressions between breathing as much air into Maura as her lungs would allow.

"I was going to propose to you." She admitted as the tears kept from flowing from her brown eyes. "We were going to get married and have lots of kids together. You have to keep scolding me about my unhealthy diet. You have to... You... God damn it! Come on, Maura! Breathe!"

One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand.

Jane pressed her cold lips to Maura's as she breathed in more air until she was panting heavily from the exertion, but it still wasn't enough to revive Maura.

"You..." She stuttered out in a broken voice, both from the cold water and from heartbreak. "You have to keep correcting me about calling Bass and Blastoise tortoises and not turtles... You know I'll forget."

Seconds turned into minutes, each round of compressions getting harder and more frantic as time went on.

"Please don't die on me! You have to live... Please don't die... I love you, Maura. Please baby, don't leave me. Come back to me. _Please_..."

Suddenly, Maura scrunched up her face in obvious discomfort and pain, and coughed loudly. She sputtered in her breathing as she spit out water, and Jane turned Maura's head to the side as the smaller woman expelled the rest of the water from her lungs.

Jane let out a huge sigh of relief as tears kept falling down her face, unable to stop them even if she tried as she closely hovered over Maura, whose coughing fit slowly subsided.

The soaking wet and shivering women gazed at one another for a moment until Maura whispered something so quietly, Jane had to lean in closer to ask "What did you say?"

"Yes." Maura repeated a little more loudly through her lips that had turned a light shade of blue.

Jane pulled her face back a few inches and stared at Maura with a puzzled expression, her hand affectionately caressing Maura's cheek as she felt warmth slowly returning to them.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll marry you."

* * *

**Oh my god... I don't know about you guys, but even I got emotional during the whole CPR scene and I wrote the damn story! What an intense and action packed chapter. At least it's all over... Right? ;) **

**Find out what happens in the next and final chapter, posted soon! Follow my Twitter or Tumblr accounts, both XBgamer94, on when it'll be ready. I sure hope you guys have enjoyed this story. It's been a wild ride. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Be sure to leave your thoughts and predictions in the reviews! :D **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rizzoli &amp; Isles. The characters belong to Tess Gerritsen, Jan Nash, Janet Tamaro, and TNT. I am in no way profiting from this. It's just for fun.**

**Here we go, the final chapter! I know some of you guys might be sad about it, which is good for me cuz I know you like it, but hopefully you'll like the way things are wrapped up. This sequel was not even supposed to be written, but I'm glad I did. Maybe... Just ****_maybe_****... I could be persuaded to write a third and final one, to have a trilogy and complete the "Borders" series. If that happens, it won't be until after my other fic "When Dreams Become Reality" is completed. So follow my Twitter or Tumblr account, both XBgamer94, to find out when that might be. **

**I bet you're wondering why this story is rated M and where the hell the smut is (I planned on it, but I couldn't put it anywhere that would make sense storyline wise) just scroll down below and maybe there will be a little something... ;) **

**For the last time, thank you for reading and reviewing! :)**

* * *

Vengeance Without Borders Ch. 13

_2 weeks later..._

"Maura!" Jane shouted at her fiancée in a scolding but playful tone, and was given an innocent and sheepish smile in response.

"What? Our guests need food and I'm bringing it out to them."

The brunette rushed across the backyard and over to where she was standing at the door, taking a heavy tray of various food out of her arms.

"You literally _just_ got out of your sling this morning, and you're lifting something like this already." Jane said, then chuckled as she added "Usually the roles are reversed with this kind of thing."

"Now you know my daily struggle." Maura deadpanned, but couldn't resist giggling at the sight of Jane's jaw dropping slightly. "I'm kidding. You know I love you, even your crazy side."

"You're lucky I love you, too." The Sergeant smirked as she set the tray down on the table out back of their house, where the farewell party for their NCIS friends was in full swing. Their flight back to DC was in a few hours, so everyone wanted to get together and have some fun before they left, especially after the events a couple of weeks ago.

Ever since Ian Faulkner's death on the bridge, things had calmed down considerably. No one had made an attempt or threat on any of their lives. It seemed that the only one who had a problem, was Ian. Now that he's out of the picture, everyone relaxed and felt safe enough to return to Jane and Maura's home.

Dozens of arrests had been made, Ian's thugs quickly giving up without a fight due to the fact that their boss was killed and they weren't sure what to do with themselves.

The only person that was still at large, David Mills.

Frost and McGee had done their absolute best at tracking him, but they couldn't find a single trace of evidence. They had a feeling David was still in Boston somewhere, lying low until things cooled down. With such a huge string of international crimes, the whole city was on alert and searching for him. It would only be a matter of time before he's found.

"I know what else you love..." Maura smiled, and Jane raised an eyebrow at her expectantly. "This ring on my finger."

Dark brown eyes fell upon Maura's left hand, where a large diamond ring shined brightly against the sun.

"I do... I still can't believe we're getting married. You sure you wanna sign up for all this?" Jane joked, and gestured to her family that was scattered around the yard, loud and boisterous as usual.

"Absolutely." The blonde woman said with pure honesty in her tone, lovingly watching her family having a great time together. She laughed when TJ attempted to dunk Tommy in the pool, who pretended to crumble under the giggling child's strength. "There's nothing I want more than this, for the rest of my life."

"I'm glad." Jane stepped closer to her, tentatively wrapping her arms around Maura's waist. The bruises and cuts on her body had faded and healed a lot, but her body was still a little sore so Jane was very careful when touching her. She leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. When Jane pulled back and glanced at the others, she smiled sadly.

Maura saw the look in her eyes and asked "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just..." Jane trailed off, but Maura gently urged her to continue with an affectionate squeeze of her hand. "I wish the Ballards were here. They were like family to me, to both of us. It's not fair they were caught up in that mess and killed."

"I know, my love..." Maura sighed, she too wished they were alive and there with them. "I'm just grateful we were able to clear Trevor's name. I didn't think for a moment that he, nor his brother and father, was involved in any of this."

"Neither did I. I can't wait until we get that scumbag David..." Jane clenched her jaw slightly, but visibly relaxed when Maura tightened her hold around her. "Let's get back to the party. We can think about everything else later."

Together, the pair rejoined the party. They sat down next to Abby, who was holding her newborn baby and chatting happily with Angela and Frost.

"I will never get over how adorable she is..." Maura wiggled a finger near baby Kate's face, in awe as the infant grabbed it with a smile. "She really is something."

Jane loved the transfixed expression on Maura's face. They briefly talked about having kids before, both deciding it wouldn't happen for a little while. Jane never really liked the idea of having a family of her own until she met Maura, even more so now seeing that look in her eyes. She wanted to see that look forever.

"Jane." A voice from the distance called out, breaking Jane from her trance. She looked up and saw Korsak standing at the backdoor, wearing a very serious expression.

"I'll be right back." Jane announced, politely excusing herself from the group and heading over to her partner to speak with him in private. "What's up, Vince?"

"We have a location on David Mills."

* * *

"How stupid can you be to fly out of the country on the same jet you came in on?" Frost shook his head in wonder, nearly laughing at the idiotic move that they hoped would lead to David's downfall.

Korsak let out a short chuckle in agreement, the Sergeant practically on the edge of his seat and wanting to jump out of the car the second they get to the airport. Although everyone wanted to bring David down, no one wanted to more so than Korsak. The international drug lord was responsible for the death of his longtime friend, Raymond. He swore to himself he'd find justice, especially after consoling his devastated and heartbroken wife the day after Ray was brutally killed.

"Yeah, well..." Korsak began with a mutter, realizing he had been lost in thought for a few seconds. "Criminals are stupid. No matter how rich or powerful they think they are, they always make a mistake and get caught. David's mistake was messing with this family. He may not have been the one holding the knife that killed Ray, but he might as well have been."

Meanwhile, Jane was too busy weaving through the thick late morning traffic to get to Logan International Airport, so she couldn't really focus on their conversation much. She had to drive there as fast as possible or their window to catch David would close.

One of David's old undercover names had popped up on the computer, alerting authorities he was attempting to leave the country. So Korsak and Gibbs came up with a quick plan to stall the flight before David knew they were going to get the drop on him.

After Korsak and Jane had spoken at the house earlier, they informed the others what was happening. Gibbs and Tony offered to go with them and assist, but were told it was ok to stay back at the house and relax. So Jane, Frost and Korsak went themselves. Only after promising their family they'd try to stay safe and get back as soon as possible.

"Let's finish this." Jane told her partners, parking the dark blue sedan in front of the airport entrance.

The trio stepped out of the car and split up, covering more ground since the building was swarming with people going in every possible direction. It would be difficult to find their man in a sea of people like this, so they thought that was the best course of action.

The tall Italian woman carefully maneuvered her way through the crowd towards the counter, where she saw a man arguing with a very timid employee.

As she got closer, Jane could hear the nasty tone that unmistakably belonged to David Mills.

"What the hell do you mean my jet hasn't been refueled yet?! I've been here for a few weeks now, it should've been done that day!" The angry man hissed through clenched teeth, frightening the poor woman even more.

"I'm sorry, sir." She apologized as sincerely as possible without giving herself away. While the three detectives were on their way, Cavanaugh called the airport and told them to make up a lie in order to keep David there. This woman was given the difficult task. "Maybe I can find you a flight on one of our planes? If you wouldn't mind waiting in that seat over there I'm sure there's an open seat."

"I don't want one of your planes. I want my jet, and I want to leave _now_. This is ridiculous! I demand-" David stopped his sentence short, noticing the way the employee nervously glanced over his shoulder.

He turned his head slightly to the left, and out of the corner of his eye saw Jane approaching him, sliding the gun out of her holster. The cold blooded murderer's eyes widened, but didn't move. Instead, he drummed his fingers along the countertop as he contemplated running. Looking to his right, David saw a man pulling a dolly full of luggage.

Without another thought, he bolted in that direction and pushed it all down in a weak attempt at blocking Jane's path.

She was right on his tail, her long and fast legs not having a problem keeping up with the fleeing suspect.

"Stop!" The brunette yelled, but the command was ignored as if it weren't even spoken. She hopped over the scattered luggage with ease, grateful she kept in good shape to do so.

They were moving so fast through the crowd, no one had time to realize what was going on or get out of the way. So many people, even a few young kids, were shoved aside by the ruthless killer.

Jane nearly stumbled over a stroller in her pursuit, and saw that David was about to go around a corner. She feared he would get away, when David suddenly collided face first with an elbow.

She skidded to a halt right behind David, who had fallen to the ground and clutched his bleeding nose.

Korsak stepped from behind the wall, a triumphant smirk on his lips. "That was for Ray, you son of a bitch."

He squatted down, roughly shoving his knee into David's back as he cuffed him. Together, the two detectives hoisted him up and dragged David all the way back to their car. As Korsak led him to the curb, he put his leg out and David tripped, once again falling onto the hard ground.

"Police brutality!" David cried out in immense pain as more blood dribbled out of his broken nose and forehead.

"I didn't see a thing." Jane laughed, and noticed Frost jogging up to them. "Did you?"

"Nope." The younger of the pair grinned, despite seeing the entire interaction. "You should be more careful, pal. These sidewalks aren't all that even."

None of them cared what Korsak had done, David deserved a lot more than what he got. They were almost dumbfounded at the words police brutality, considering all of his crimes he committed. The worst would have to be killing his partner and Trevor, then framing them for something they would never do.

David growled in frustration, blood entering his mouth and covering his teeth. As he was thrown into the backseat, he shouted "You haven't seen the last of me!" David paused briefly to spit some blood out and onto the sidewalk, the thick iron taste almost too much to bear. "I'm a very powerful man, I have money. I'll be out of prison in no time, just you wait."

"Shut up!" Korsak slammed the door on his face, smug and satisfied when he heard the distinct sound of a bone crunching followed by a loud yelp. "Anyway... I don't know about you guys, but I'm still craving that BBQ food back at the house."

Jane looked at her watch. "It's getting pretty late... We don't want to be up _all_ night processing him. So much paperwork." She said, her voice dripping with the trademark Rizzoli sarcasm. "Let him rot in the holding cell until the morning. We have a family to get back to."

* * *

Relief flooded everyone the moment Jane, Frost, and Korsak finally came home. They were trying to have a good time, but it was difficult since they could only focus on their worry.

"Jane!" Maura nearly shouted in excitement, hurrying over to her fiancée and throwing her arms around Jane.

"I'm ok, Maur... I'm ok." She gently assured, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's over. We won't have to live in fear or look over our shoulders anymore."

"You apprehended David?" The blonde asked in a muffled whisper, her face buried in Jane's shirt.

"Yeah, we got him." Jane smiled. "He was at the airport, trying to leave on his jet. His own damn jet!"

"Wow, that was pretty stupid of him..." Maura laughed, finally pulling out of the embrace. "No one was hurt, right?"

"Well... Define no one?"

"Jane..." Maura said in a stern voice, not liking her answer. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me!" Jane laughed and looked over at Vince, who had a beer in hand as he sat down to finally relax. "Korsak got him, and David had a little mishap. I think his shoes were untied and he fell, broke his nose."

"Ok, so no one we _love_ got hurt?" She questioned more specifically, Jane snickering at the fact Maura had no care for David's injury whatsoever.

"No. We're all fine."

"Good..." Maura breathed another sigh of relief, grateful she could finally start putting this behind her.

Once again, the pair rejoined the party. Only now everyone was fully relaxed and truly enjoying themselves.

It wasn't until a few hours later, did Jane and Maura finally have a moment alone together in the kitchen.

"Mmm..." Maura purred as Jane nipped at her neck. "I've missed this."

"You mean since we showered together this morning?" Jane cheekily replied, swiping her tongue along Maura's collarbone. The action elicited a low moan from her throat, Maura biting her lip to keep herself quiet with so many people just a few yards away.

"Y-yes..." She stuttered out as Jane's hands began roaming her body. "We... Oh god, Jane... We can't... Our family..."

"You telling me to stop?" The taller woman murmured, backing Maura up until she was against the counter. Jane grinned knowing she got her answer, Maura simply moaning again in response.

Slowly, she unzipped Maura's jeans and was about to slip her hand inside when someone cleared their throat.

Jane and Maura quickly distanced themselves from one another, utterly embarrassed at getting caught.

"Thought you should know we're leaving in a few minutes." Gibbs informed them, smiling at their deep blushes.

"Oh, um... Yes, of course." The flustered Medical Examiner discreetly re-zipped her jeans, walking around the island of the kitchen towards the kitchen door. "I'm sorry you had to walk in on that."

"Don't worry about it, I've been there quite a few times myself... Lucky it was me and not Tommy's little boy. He's been in and out of here all day getting Popsicles." He laughed, and both women's eyes widened at the thought. "You're engaged, it's to be expected you two would do that sort of thing in your own home."

"Speaking of being engaged..." Jane subtly changed the subject, trying to save herself and Maura from further embarrassment. "Thank you again for giving us your blessing. It means a lot that you approve of us."

"You're welcome." The special agent hugged Jane, the interaction surprising Maura. He never really showed affection to many people, so she knew Gibbs must really like Jane. "Thanks for having us. It's been a hell of a visit, Rizzoli."

"Ha! Yes it has." Jane agreed with a laugh when the embrace ended. "You know you're welcome here anytime. We haven't set a date for the wedding yet, but all of you have to come."

"We wouldn't miss it for anything." He promised, the conversation making the three of them a little emotional. Between everything that's happened recently, as well as two years ago, they certainly have been through a lot together. "I think we should go out there and make our final round of goodbyes before Abby and Angela lose it. You know how they get."

"I think it's too late for that, Ma will be bawling all night I bet. She's really gotten attached to you guys."

"So have we."

Just as predicted, both Angela and Abby were crying. The two were sniffling in each other's arms as they were exchanging tearful goodbyes and promises of staying in touch.

"Be sure to send pictures of little Kate, ok? I'm gonna miss that cute face." Angela laughed, wiping away a single tear that fell down her cheek.

"I promise I will." Abby said, and handed over the baby so the Rizzoli matriarch could hold her one last time. "We'll be back, don't you worry. Then you can hold her as much as you want."

"Thanks, Abby. I'm gonna miss all of you so much. We need to plan for a longer visit next time, one without all the danger!"

"Couldn't agree with you more." The goth woman chuckled, and saw that Maura had come back from the house with Jane and Gibbs in tow. "About time you showed up. What were you guys doing?"

"Um... There was..." Jane stumbled over her words, unable to think of a good excuse on the spot like that. She looked at Maura for help, but she was also at a loss of what to say.

"Let me guess... You were doing each other?" Abby teased, cracking up at the horrified expressions on their faces. "Couldn't wait 5 more minutes, could ya?"

"_Again_?" Angela groaned, also joining in on the fun. She always loved messing with her girls. "Aren't you two worn out from this morning?"

If possible, Jane and Maura's faces had gotten even redder from blushing furiously.

"What... Uh, what do you mean this morning?" Jane squeaked innocently.

"Oh don't play dumb on me, I heard you all the way from the guest house. You two were _that_ loud! You're like rabbits, going at it all the time."

At that point, Frankie and Tony had come over to see what the commotion was about. They caught the tail end of the conversation and couldn't help but laugh at Jane and Maura.

"Ok, enough!" Jane pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, as if she could pretend she wasn't there. When she opened them again to the sound of a familiar giggle, Jane saw Maura with a bemused grin on her face. "Oh no, you're not gonna start in on the jokes too, are ya?"

"No, I wasn't..." Maura assured, still laughing. "I should be really mad right now, but I'm not. If someone can tease me about my healthy sex life without me getting upset, then I know I'm around the right group of people. I know they mean well and love us."

The words melted Jane's heart, the embarrassment almost forgotten. Almost.

"I know they do, which is probably why I haven't run off to some foreign country by now." Jane joked, and when the laughter of the group died down, she said more seriously "I couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to call family. I'm so glad to have all of you here, even with all that's happened. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me, and for Maura. You're all truly the greatest, and I'll miss each and every one of you."

"Aw, Jane..." Maura teared up at the words. "That was so sweet. My badass Sergeant is such a softie."

"That stays between us." Jane winked at her.

"I'd also like to say my thanks to you all as well." Maura began, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her yet again. Not only was she saying goodbye to part of her family, but she was talking about something horrifying that was still very fresh in her mind. The physical scars may have started to fade, but the emotional ones would take so much longer. "You stuck with Jane and I the entire time, despite the dangers. Some of you even put your lives at risk when mine was hanging in the balance, and for that, I'll be forever grateful to have you in my life."

Jane gave her a quick kiss on the side of her head, proud of her for being able to speak about what happened even if it was only a few words. The first couple of days after, Maura would shut down every time it was brought up. She just couldn't do it. The poor woman was so traumatized it took her days to be able to even think about it without hyperventilating.

As the days went on, no one pressured her to talk. Not even Jane. She knew Maura well enough by now that she would talk when she's ready, and Jane would be there to listen.

It wasn't until a few nights ago, that Maura had a nightmare. Her crying woke Jane up, the brunette instantly consoling her while she broke down. It was her first real big cry about it, and after the sobs faded and the hiccups stopped, Maura finally spoke.

She had told Jane everything, it just spilled out involuntarily. Maura knew it was long overdue, it wasn't healthy to keep something like that bottled up. From the moment she was kidnapped and the brutal torture she endured, to almost dying during her eventual rescue. Maura talked about it all while Jane interjected every now and then with comforting words, assuring her that she was ok and she would never let anything like that happen to her ever again, swearing on her own life.

Jane remained stoic as best she could through the horrific details, occasionally gritting her teeth at some parts. By the end of it, both women were crying softly as they held one another.

She held Maura tighter without even realizing, snapping back to the present when she felt Maura hugging her in return. They exchanged meaningful glances, both thinking the same thing. Both happy that they defied the odds together and were alive to talk about it.

Everyone hugged one another, saying their goodbyes and even cracking a few jokes to help brighten up the sad faces.

The most adorable goodbye was between TJ and baby Kate, the young child fascinated by someone so little and young.

"Bye bye, Kate." Tommy Jr whispered to the sleeping infant wrapped up in her mother's arms, delicately using his small hand to softly pat her on the head. It both amazed and warmed the hearts of everyone with how gentle the usual rambunctious kid was towards her. "When you come back and you're a little bigger, we can play with my toys together. You can even have some if you want."

"Aw thank you, TJ." Abby smiled, loving how sweet he was being to her daughter. "I'm sure Kate would really like that. I promise next time I visit, she'll be here with me."

"Yay!" TJ happily cheered, careful to not be too loud and wake the baby.

"It's almost 7:30..." McGee announced with a frown after he checked his phone, sad that it was time to go. Also hating that he had to put an end to TJ's time with his new friend and favorite playmate.

"This isn't the end, guys... C'mon! Why the long faces?" Tony tried to lighten the mood, and it worked some. His cheerful was energy contagious. "We'll see each other again, we always do. Even if it's a while away, we'll keep in touch. There's no way I couldn't call or write any of you."

"That's true..." Frankie agreed with his friend. "How about we make it a once a year thing? We get together just like this?"

"That's a great idea, little brother." Jane chimed in, then added "And we'll come to DC when we can, too."

While they briefly discussed their plans of getting together again, Korsak and Gibbs snuck away to put all the bags into the trunks of the rental cars. It gave the others a little more time to say goodbye.

"It's been a pleasure seeing you again, Vince." Gibbs said, shaking the fellow marine's hand.

"Same here. You let me know when that boat of yours is done and we can do some fishing together, how's that sound?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me. I've still got plenty of vacation time left my boss has been pestering me to use."

"That's just like Jane. She won't ever take a break..." Korsak laughed, memories of his partner trying to go back to work just weeks after being shot a few years ago. He shook his head in wonder, glad she had someone like Maura now who would put her foot down and make sure she stayed at home.

"Jane just loves her job, it's who she is..." Gibbs tossed the last suitcase inside and closed the trunk. He leaned his back against it, taking a moment before he said "I'm sorry about your friend, Raymond. He seemed like a really good man."

"Thanks." Vince smiled sadly. "He definitely was. Saved my ass back in the war and during our time as beat cops quite a few times, don't know what I would've done without him covering me all these years."

"It's hard, losing someone like that..." Gibbs sighed, thinking of Kate. "At least we found them justice in the end. We can take solace in that."

"Yes we can."

They remained in a comfortable silence for a minute, until the others emerged from the house.

Hugs were yet again exchanged before the NCIS gang climbed into their cars and drove off, honking the horns while the others stood in the driveway and waved at them.

* * *

It was around midnight before Maura and Jane finally turned in for bed, the mess of the farewell party all cleaned up and the house being restored to its immaculate condition. It was just the two of them now, everyone had gone home a while ago after helping them clean and put away leftovers.

"So..." Jane trailed off, running a finger along Maura's bicep. "We're all alone. In bed. You wanna continue what we started in the kitchen earlier?"

Maura smirked as she swung a leg over Jane's hips, straddling her. With a predatory look in her eyes, she whispered "One, _you_ started that, I only encouraged it... Two, you never have to ask if I want to continue."

She rolled her hips in one swift movement, rubbing her center against Jane's. They were still dressed, only in a shirt and underwear, but Maura knew underneath that thin layer of clothing that both of them were soaked. It never took them much to get turned on, always ready for one another. She loved the passion and chemistry they shared, it never faded over time and only grew stronger every passing day.

Jane leaned up and lifted Maura's silk shirt over her head, quickly discarding it on the floor beside the bed. She laid back down to enjoy her favorite view, resting her hands behind her head and arched an eyebrow.

Maura took the subtle hint and began letting her hands wander along her yoga toned body, gasping when her fingertips came in contact with hard nipples. She pinched them softly at first, reveling in the sensation and massive turn on of touching herself while Jane watched.

She gazed down at her lover, brown eyes several shades darker than usual. Jane's arousal was escalating fast, and slipped her hands out from behind her head to grasp Maura's hips. She rolled her body closer and against her own, both moaning deeply in satisfaction. The action was repeated again and again until Maura was so aroused, she removed her hands from her breasts and lowered her body to lie completely on top of Jane.

"Maura..."

She knew what Jane wanted. The plea was obvious in her desperate tone. As their lips finally connected, Maura slipped a hand between their bodies and under the waistband of Jane's boyshorts.

"So wet for me..." Maura growled, teasing Jane as she ran a finger along the length of her slit. Her aching folds practically begging to be touched more.

"Oh god, Maura..." Her voice was more hoarse than usual, deeper and thick with want and desire. "Please..."

Normally Maura would keep teasing, but she was so wildly turned on right now, all she wanted right now was to feel Jane from the inside.

Without another word, Maura slipped in two fingers and began pumping at furious pace.

"Ah- fuck!" Jane cursed as she cried out, her walls already tightening around Maura's digits. "So... Cl-close..."

"Come for me, Jane... Come for me and scream my name."

"Mmm..." Jane threw her head back into soft pillows, her hands still at Maura's waist as she helped pull in her faster and faster. She felt a powerful orgasm building within her, and knew she wasn't going to last much longer.

"Tell me how good this feels, Jane." She purred into her ear, her hot breath slightly ragged as she kept up a vigorous pace that burned her arm. But she had no intention of stopping yet. "Tell me how good it feels to have my hand inside you, how it feels to be fucked until you can barely move anymore..."

"So... Fucking... Good..." Jane panted out, amazed she was able to make a verbal response at all. She used one hand as pulled Maura's head down, kissing her with all the energy she had left. Maura slid her tongue past pink lips, massaging it expertly with Jane's tongue. Just as Jane was about to respond to the heated kiss, Maura retreated her tongue and kissed along her jaw and neck, sucking insistently until marks appeared.

"Maura!" Jane yelled loudly as she came, the feeling of Maura's lips on her skin was all it took to push her over the edge and happily into oblivion.

Strands of black hair clung to Jane's sweaty forehead as she attempted to catch her breath, panting heavily as Maura snuggled close to her side, leaving affectionate kisses on her cheek.

"That..." Jane paused to inhale and exhale a few times. "That was fucking amazing, Maur."

"Mmm... It was for me, too." She hummed in agreement, both of them in a state of bliss.

Jane waited a few moments until her breathing finally calmed down, before crawling on top of Maura.

"So damn beautiful..." She whispered in awe. "How the hell did I get so lucky?"

"I was about to say the same thing." Maura replied, her heart beating rapidly in anticipation of what Jane had in store for her.

Jane's fingertips grazed the silk fabric of Maura's underwear, massaging everywhere except where she knew Maura wanted her most. Ever so slowly, Jane hooked two fingers on each side and pulled the barrier away and off her legs altogether. She was met with the familiar sight of Maura's soft folds, practically dripping for her.

"Jesus..."

"I've had all day. That's what happens when you don't finish what you start."

"Oh, I intend to finish that right now." Jane didn't waste any more time, dipping her head down to finally taste her woman again. Both groaned in stereo at the contact, Jane lapping up Maura's juices almost as fast as she was producing it.

Her hips arched up so high, Jane reached around her thighs to hold Maura down as she sucked on her clit.

Only seconds had passed when Maura squeezed her legs around Jane's head, screaming her fiancée's name as she came.

When Maura came down from her incredible and mind blowing high, she spread her legs just enough so Jane could come back up to her, mustering up all the energy she had to do so.

Jane left a trail of tender kisses in her wake, only stopping when she got to Maura's shoulder. Maura looked up and saw the expression on Jane's face. She wasn't sure what to say.

"I came so close to losing you..." Jane started tearing up at the thought, not taking her eyes away from the healed gunshot wound. She leaned down to kiss the scar, and rested her head on it, faintly hearing the reassuring sound of Maura's heartbeat.

Maura knew what happened to her was awful, and while she was dealing with that as best she could herself and with the support of others, she also knew that it must've been horrible for Jane as well. She was in that position countless times, the most horrific one being when Jane was captured in Africa. The mere thought of losing her was devastating.

"I'm sorry I worried you so much..." Maura apologized, and put a single finger on Jane's lips, knowing she was about to be told she didn't have to say that. "I know, it wasn't my fault or yours. I just felt badly for worrying you. All this time we've been talking about how I've been doing, and I didn't stop to think about how it affected you. I'm sorry, Jane."

"Maura... You never _ever_ have to say sorry to me about that. It hasn't even been that long, you're still dealing with it. Yes, it was absolutely terrifying for me..." Jane shuddered as several memories of that night played in loop. "But that doesn't mean you need to worry about me, not now at least. We just need to focus on you."

"If we're getting married, we need to focus on _both_ of us... Not just one person's troubles. I appreciate you wanting to do that, but this seriously affected you as well, so if you need to talk about it with me, you don't need to be scared. I can handle it, I promise. If it gets to be too much, we can drop it for a little while and get back to it when we're emotionally ready to."

"I love you, so much..." Jane kissed her once more on the lips, and held Maura closely. "You're right. I was scared to talk to you about it, I didn't want to make it about me since I didn't go through what you did. But now I know it's hurting you, so I promise we'll communicate better... Right now? I just want to hold the love of my life until we fall asleep, maybe talk tomorrow. Is that ok?"

"It's definitely ok with me." Maura yawned as she scooted back further into Jane's strong arms, reveling in the comfort they brought. "It's getting pretty late anyway, so I think talking can wait. A certain Sergeant made me quite tired."

"What can I say? I have mad skills."

Both started laughing hysterically, the vibrations of their bodies rocking the bed slightly. After a few moments, Jane snuggled her face into Maura's soft honey blonde hair, pressing a delicate kiss behind her ear before whispering "Night, Maur."

"Goodnight, my love."

* * *

_A few months later..._

Jane entered BPD's morgue, limping with a good amount of blood dripping down her pant leg. She gritted her teeth in fear, waiting for the Medical Examiner to notice her presence.

"Hey." Maura greeted, not yet looking up from what she was doing. "Did you and Barry get your suspect?"

"Um... Yeah, yeah we did." She answered, having a little difficulty standing up straight.

"Why did you say it like th-" Maura stopped mid sentence, finally seeing Jane's leg. "Oh my god, Jane! What happened?"

"It's just a little scrape, that's all."

Maura rolled her eyes when Jane smiled sheepishly, who was trying to not make it into a big deal.

"What am I going to do with you?" Maura signed to herself, then patted the empty metal slab next to her.

"The dead person table, really?" Jane joked as she limped over, hopping up onto the autopsy slab. Maura put on a fresh pair of gloves and ripped at Jane's already torn up pant leg, revealing a large gash on her knee and calf.

"How did this happen?" Maura asked as she inspected the injury.

"Me and Frost were-"

"Frost and I."

"Ugh..." Jane groaned at the correction while Maura laughed. "Ok, _Frost and I _were chasing the suspect when the guy hopped an old fence. Frost cut around the alley to try and beat him, and I jumped over the fence. My pant leg got caught, but I still kept going. I actually didn't even notice I was bleeding until after I tackled him and Frost had to point it out."

"This is pretty serious... You may need stitches."

"Aw come on!" Jane whined like a little kid. "Can't you just clean it up and slap a bandaid over it?"

"No I can't just slap a bandaid over it..." Maura scoffed in disbelief at the idea. "You're lucky I have the necessary supplies here and I'm qualified to do this myself, I know how you feel about hospitals."

"Yeah..." Jane smiled appreciatively, grateful Maura was able to fix her up without having to take a trip to the emergency room. "Thanks, Maur."

"You're welcome... Just try to be a little more careful next time? I love these suits you wear, I don't want to have to switch your wardrobe to something more durable like my tyvek suits... Luckily I have a spare suit of yours in my office closet for emergencies."

"Well excuse me for forgetting my fence hopping pants back at the house... Darn! I knew I didn't bring everything with me to work this morning!"

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Maura shot back with a matching grin, very much enjoying their banter. "Ok, this is going to sting a little."

Maura poured the antibiotics onto the scrape, cleaning the area of dried blood with a thick paper towel.

"Ow! Son of a bitch!" Jane hissed in pain. "That felt worse than the actual injury itself! What do they put in that stuff, acid?!"

"It's not nearly as strong as what you're referring to, don't be such a baby." Maura teasingly replied, gently wiping away the dirt and blood. Once the wound was finally cleaned, she was able to get a better look at it. "I think you only need butterfly stitches, the cuts aren't as large as I originally thought and the bleeding has already stopped."

"That's good." Jane breathed a small sigh of relief, watching as Maura fetched the supplies from a nearby drawer. Coming back with them, the doctor placed Neosporin on the tinier cuts before moving on to the bigger ones.

Once Jane was all patched up a minute later, Maura placed a few soft kisses along Jane's leg.

"You know, we're gonna be doing this for our kids someday." Jane commented absentmindedly as the image popped into her head.

Maura's head shot right up. "That won't ever happen."

"I thought you wanted kids with me?"

"Oh, I do." She reassured with a smile. "But I meant that they won't be in a sport or position that would give them injuries such as this one. I'd hate for my child to get hurt so often."

"Kids are kids." Jane chuckled. "They love playing rough sometimes, and getting hurt is just part of that. I can't tell you how many times I got banged up playing lacrosse and basketball."

"You had a hairline fracture when we first met." Maura smiled at the memory.

"How could I forget? That was the moment I fell in love with you."

"Aw, Jane..." She couldn't resist leaning forward to kiss her, overwhelmed with how sweet Jane was. "I love you."

"I love you, too... And those kisses. Think I could get some more? They always make me feel better." Jane pouted her lips, giving her best impression of a sad puppy begging.

"Like I would ever say no."

The kiss was soft and playful at first, but gradually became hot and hungry. Jane used her good leg to pull Maura closer to her, whimpering quietly when the kiss ended.

"I'm sorry, but remember last time we started kissing at work?" Maura reminded her, slightly out of breath. "We couldn't stop and Barry walked in on us having sex on my office desk."

"That was your fault... Should've locked the door."

"You pounced me! I didn't have a chance to!" Maura argued, but wasn't mad. Jane could tell by the small smile, like she was trying not to laugh.

"Did you try to stop me? Nope. So that was all you."

"And why didn't _you_ think to lock the door?"

"I uh... Was distracted, by you. See? You're to blame."

"Oh shut up and get me in the office. _I'll_ remember to lock the door this time."

Maura dashed into the office with Jane right behind her, both giggling and laughing like teenagers. Not even realizing Susie had just walked in the room, catching the end of what they said. Shaking her head with a smile, the senior criminalist left the autopsy room without a word.

She was happy for them of course, especially after what happened to Maura a few months ago. It took her over a month to be able to return to work. Whenever she saw certain wounds and injuries on the dead bodies that reminded her of the ones she had, Maura would tense up and panic.

Eventually, that went away over time. She went to therapy, sometimes with Jane. They felt it was good to talk about everything together like they wanted to. It was those sessions that brought them even closer together than before, strengthening their bond.

Weeks and weeks went by until things slowly got back to normal, the vivid nightmares only a rare occurrence at that point. Whenever they happened, Jane was always there to comfort Maura just like she did when Jane had Hoyt nightmares.

Jane and Maura talk with their NCIS family as often as they can, updating one another on their work and personal lives. Abby usually skyped with them, showing them how big Kate had gotten since they last saw her.

The more they heard about Kate, the more Jane and Maura wanted a baby of their own. They agreed it should at least be a year or two after the wedding, which was still a while away. The two of them planned way ahead of time, making sure they were all caught up on case and paper work. Jane of course had more vacation time than she knew what to do with, and Maura was her own boss, so they were able to have a lengthy honeymoon and be able to travel wherever they wanted.

"How do you feel about volcanoes?" Maura asked her fiancée, who was lying completely naked underneath her.

"What about them?"

"Well..." Maura played with one Jane's thick and unruly curls as she rested her face on a bare breast. "It's been my childhood dream to get married on the cliffs of Santorini, right on top of the volcano. I was wondering if you liked that idea? It's your wedding too, so if you veto the idea that's alright."

"Maur, the only wedding idea I envisioned was getting hitched at Fenway when I was like, 12. I never really cared about that sort of thing, not until I met you. As long as I'm getting married to you, then it doesn't matter where we are. Besides, Santaroni sounds like it could be really nice especially if you like it."

"Santorini." Maura corrected with a laugh. "You would really do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you." Jane said, giving Maura a kiss. "Let's go get married in Santorini."

* * *

**The end! **

**Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed the story and how I finished it. Will there be a third fic? Well, I'm leaving that up to you. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews! :D **

**Also, check out my new one shot called "Regrets" if you're interested :)**


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